12 LC
37 1386ER
Senate
Bill 469
By:
Senators Balfour of the 9th, Hamrick of the 30th, Cowsert of the 46th and
Tolleson of the 20th
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Chapter 6 of Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to labor organizations and labor relations, so as to provide that certain
provisions prohibiting mass picketing shall apply to certain private residences;
to provide for an action to enjoin unlawful mass picketing; to provide for
punishment and penalties; to provide for injunctive relief; to provide for
public policy concerning refusal or decision to withdraw from a labor union or
employee organization; to provide for certain contract and agreement employment
rights; to provide for the development by the Department of Labor of employee
rights information; to provide certain posting requirements by private
employers; to provide for enforcement; to provide for changes to agreements and
contracts permitting labor organizations to deduct fees from employees'
earnings; to amend Code Section 16-7-21, relating to criminal trespass, so as to
provide for both criminal trespass and criminal conspiracy; to provide for
punishment and fines; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting
laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Chapter
6 of Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to labor
organizations and labor relations, is amended by revising Code Section 34-6-5,
relating to interference with public ways of travel, transportation, or
conveyance by mass picketing near site of a labor dispute, as
follows:
"34-6-5.
(a)
It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in mass picketing at or near any
place,
including private residences, where a
labor dispute exists in such number or manner as to obstruct or interfere with
or constitute a threat to obstruct or interfere with the entrance to or egress
from any place of employment or the free and uninterrupted use of public roads,
streets, highways, railroads, airports, or other ways of travel, transportation,
or conveyance.
(b)
A person, or organization that he or she is affiliated with or acting on behalf
of, commits an offense when he or she engages in targeted picketing of a private
residence that has or intends the effect of interfering with the resident's
right to quiet enjoyment, or when such targeted picketing has or intends the
effect of violence or intimidation. This subsection shall not apply to private
residences that are also places of employment when targeted picketing relates to
or is targeted at such employment.
(c)
An employer or other person or entity that is the target of an activity
prohibited under subsection (a) of this Code section may bring an action to
enjoin the prohibited activity against an individual or organization affiliated
with such individual in the circuit court for the county in which the affected
employer, person, or entity is located. A court having jurisdiction of an
action brought under this subsection shall grant injunctive relief if the court
finds that any person, union, or organization has engaged or is engaging in any
of the conduct prohibited under subsection (a) of this Code section, without
regard to the existence of other remedies, demonstration of irreparable harm, or
other factors. The court shall award court costs and reasonable attorney fees
to a plaintiff who prevails in an action brought under this
subsection.
(d)
Failure to comply with an order of the court issued under this Code section may
be punished as contempt.
(e)
A person who violates subsection (a) of this Code section and has previously
been enjoined for a violation of subsection (a) of this Code section is subject
to a civil fine of $1,000.00 for each day of the violation. If a union or
organization continues to sponsor or assist in the prohibited activity in
violation of an injunction, the union or organization is subject to a civil fine
of $10,000.00 for each day of the violation. The civil fine assessed under this
subsection shall be paid to the court, and, upon a showing of damages to
business sales, business opportunities, or property, the employer, person, or
entity that was the target of the activity prohibited under subsection (a) of
this Code section shall be compensated from the payment made to the
court.
(f)
An employer that is the target of picketing may obtain injunctive relief against
picketers without a showing of irreparable harm if the court finds the picketing
to be in violation of subsection (a) of this Code
section."
SECTION
2.
Said
chapter is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as
follows:
"34-6-9.
(a)
It is the public policy of the State of Georgia that:
(1)
Employees in Georgia have the right to employment without regard to any person's
refusal to join or affiliate with, or decision to withdraw from or cease
membership in, any labor union or employee organization of any
kind;
(2)
Employees in Georgia have the right to be employed free from the restraints of
any contract, combination, or agreement, written or oral, that provides for
exclusion from employment of any person due to their refusal to join or
affiliate with, or decision to withdraw from or cease membership in, any labor
union or employee organization of any kind;
(3)
Employees in Georgia have the right to be employed without regard to any
person's refusal to pay dues, fees, assessments, or other charges to any labor
union or employee organization of any kind; and
(4)
Employees in Georgia have the right to decertify a union or other bargaining
representative upon compliance with the applicable provisions of federal
law.
(b)
The Department of Labor shall develop and display on its website a suitable form
of notice providing employees with information regarding their rights under this
Code section.
(c)
Private employers shall physically post adequate notice informing employees of
the rights described in this Code section at locations where notices are
normally posted or, if no such normal location for posting exists, physically
disseminate such notice to employees. A private employer may also, at its
discretion, post such notices on the company's intranet or disseminate them via
other electronic means of communication.
(d)
If compliance by an employer with subsection (c) of this Code section will
create an undue hardship posing significant difficulty or expense, then such
employer is exempted from compliance with subsection (c) of this Code
section.
(e)
The Commissioner of Labor shall be charged with enforcement of the obligations
contained in this Code section. In carrying out the commissioner's
responsibility to ensure compliance, the commissioner, or the person to whom the
commissioner delegates such responsibility, is authorized to:
(1)
Receive complaints or reports of noncompliance from any person;
(2)
Inspect and investigate any report of noncompliance; and
(3)
Give notice of noncompliance to any employer who is in violation of this Code
section.
(f)
The commissioner shall designate those persons in the commissioner's department
responsible for carrying out the commissioner's powers, duties, and
responsibilities under this Code
section."
SECTION
3.
Said
chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 34-6-25, relating to
deductions from employees' earnings of fees of labor organizations, as
follows:
"34-6-25.
No
employer shall deduct from the wages or other earnings of any employee any fee,
assessment, or other sum of money whatsoever to be held for or to be paid over
to a labor organization except on the
individual
order or request of the employee, which shall not be irrevocable for a period of
more than one year
annual written
authorization from the employee which shall not exceed a period greater than one
year. Such authorization may be revoked at any time at the request of the
employee."
SECTION
4.
Said
chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 34-6-26, relating to
contracts allowing deductions from employees' earnings of fees of labor
organizations, as follows:
"34-6-26.
It
shall be unlawful for any employer to contract with any labor organization and
for any labor organization to contract with any employer for the deduction of
any fee, assessment, or other sum of money whatsoever from the wages or other
earnings of an employee to be held for or to be paid over to a labor
organization except upon the condition to be embodied in said contract that such
deduction will be made only on the
individual
order or request of the employee, which shall not be irrevocable for a period of
more than one year
annual written
authorization. Such authorization may be revoked at any time at the request of
the employee."
SECTION
5.
Code
Section 16-7-21 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to criminal
trespass, is amended by revising subsection (d) as follows:
"(d)(1)
A person who commits the offense of criminal trespass shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor.
(2)
The provisions of Code Section 16-4-8.1 notwithstanding, a person may be
convicted of both conspiracy to commit criminal trespass and the completed crime
of criminal trespass, in which event such separate crime of conspiracy shall be
a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than one year, a fine of not
more than $10,000.00, or both such fine and
imprisonment."
SECTION
6.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.