In May 2022, the City of Lebanon, Pennsylvania moved its offices, including the police department, to a new building about four blocks away. Prior to the move, police officers were permitted to park their personal vehicles wherever they pleased, whether in a public lot, or in metered street parking spaces. On May 13, 2022, the City directed all City employees, including police officers, to park only in a designated parking lot, and provided access cards. The new lot is about two blocks from City Hall and the police department and is about a two-minute walk away. Aside from the Fire Chief, the Fire Captain, the Mayor, and several employees with accommodations for physical disabilities, all City employees park in the new lot. There were metered parking spaces closer to the police department than the new lot, which officers were no longer permitted to use, even at their own expense.
The police union did not agree to the May 13, 2022, parking directive, but also did not request bargaining or impact bargaining. Several officers defied the directive by renting spaces in a municipal lot closer to the police department building, or by paying for metered parking spaces, and were consistently ordered by the Chief to move their vehicles. No discipline was issued to any police officer for failing to park in the designated lot. In December 2022, the Chief issued a new directive reiterating the parking requirement, but also limited it to employees of the day shift.
The Union filed a ULP with the state labor board on December 21, 2022, arguing that the City directive constituted an improper unilateral change to the terms and conditions of employment. At the hearing, the City moved to dismiss on the basis that the Union failed to file the charge within the six-week statutory deadline. The City argued that since the Union was aware of the parking directive as early as May 13, 2022, it was required to file a charge within six weeks of that date. The Union argued that the December 2022 directive started the clock, and the charge was therefore timely.
The labor board agreed with the City. It found that the May 13, 2022, directive was communicated via email to all police officers, including the union president and vice president, and therefore the Union was on notice of the policy change on that date. The directive was clear and provided no exceptions. The union president testified during the hearing that officers were expected to park in the new lot as of May 2022, and the City offered testimony that the Chief of Police ordered individually non-compliant officers to move their vehicles prior to December. Isolated examples of officers refusing to comply with the policy did not change the fact that the May directive applied to the entire department and was the prevailing rule since it became effective. The labor board denied the charge, and the parking policy remained in effect.
Lebanon Police Bargaining Association v. City of Lebanon, PF-C-22-64-E, PF-C-23-66-E, 2024 WL 1526722 (Pa. Lab. Rel. Bd., 2024).