NCJ Number
140570
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 40 Issue: 5 Dated: (May 1992) Pages: 23-24
Date Published
1992
Length
2 pages
Annotation
Both labor and civil reviews recognize that the top management of law enforcement agencies has the right to define and enforce the agency's mission.
Abstract
Title VII of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 protects management's rights to determine the mission, budget, organization, number of employees, and internal security practices for Federal employees. Its principles have been models for several State and local laws. Although police administrators whose departments operate under State collective bargaining laws may feel helpless to enforce an agency mission, these laws recognize managers' rights to act unilaterally in several areas without consulting the union. In most labor contracts, enforcing a management directive usually requires only reasonable notice, not union bargaining. In addition, State bargaining laws usually make it an unfair labor practice or illegal for a union to interfere with or try to coerce management to bargain over any inherent management rights. However, administrators should never implement a mission or other regulation for the sake of revenge. Instead, they should make sure that job descriptions, rules and regulations, policies and practices, and performance evaluations are oriented to the mission. To implement a mission effectively, they should tell employees that they intend to adopt a mission and will consider their constructive input, allow employees 1 or 2 weeks to question management's motives, and implement the mission only after being willing to dismiss any employee who refuses to comply with it or work to promote it.