447.401 Grievance procedures.—Each public employer and bargaining agent shall negotiate a grievance procedure to be used for the settlement of disputes between a public employer and a public employee, or a group of public employees, involving the interpretation or application of a collective bargaining agreement. The grievance procedure must have as its terminal step a final and binding disposition by an impartial neutral arbitrator, mutually selected by the parties; however, when the issue under appeal is an allegation of abuse, abandonment, or neglect of a child by a public employee under s. 39.201 or an allegation of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a vulnerable adult by a public employee under s. 415.1034, the grievance may not be decided until such allegation has been judicially determined. However, an arbitrator or other neutral party may not add to, subtract from, modify, or alter the terms of a collective bargaining agreement. If an employee organization is certified as the bargaining agent of a bargaining unit, the grievance procedure then in existence may be the subject of collective bargaining, and any agreement that is reached shall supersede the previously existing procedure. All public employees have the right to a fair and equitable grievance procedure administered without regard to membership or nonmembership in any employee organization, except that bargaining agents may not be required to process grievances for public employees who are not members of the employee organization. A public employee may use the civil service appeal procedure, an unfair labor practice procedure, or a grievance procedure established under this section but may not avail himself or herself of more than one of these procedures.
History.—s. 3, ch. 74-100; s. 1, ch. 74-378; s. 14, ch. 77-343; s. 38, ch. 87-238; s. 12, ch. 88-290; s. 32, ch. 91-57; s. 135, ch. 95-418; s. 156, ch. 97-103; s. 154, ch. 98-403; s. 101, ch. 2000-349; s. 15, ch. 2026-58.
