N.Y. Civil Service Law § 201 (2026)

§ 201. Definitions. As used in this article:
  1. The term "board" means the public employment relations board
created by section two hundred five of this article.
  2. (a) The term "membership dues deduction" means the obligation or
practice of a government to deduct from the salary of a public employee
with his consent an amount for the payment of his membership dues in an
employee organization. Such term also means the obligation or practice
of a government to transmit the sums so deducted to an employee
organization.
  (b) The term "agency shop fee deduction" means the obligation or
practice of a government to deduct from the salary of a public employee
who is not a member of the certified or recognized employee organization
which represents such employee for the purpose of collective
negotiations conducted pursuant to this article, an amount equivalent to
the amount of dues payable by a member. Such term also means the
obligation or practice of a government to transmit the sums so deducted
to an employee organization.
  3. The term "chief legal officer" means (a) in the case of the state
of New York or a state public authority, the attorney general of the
state of New York, (b) in the case of a county, city, town, village or
school district, the county attorney, corporation counsel, town
attorney, village attorney or school district attorney, as the case may
be, and (c) in the case of any such government not having its own
attorney, or any other government or public employer, the corporation
counsel of the city in which such government or public employer has its
principal office, and if such principal office is not located in a city,
the county attorney of the county in which such government or public
employer has its principal office.
  4. The term "terms and conditions of employment" means:
  (a) salaries, wages, hours and other terms and conditions of
employment provided, however, that such term shall not include any
benefits provided by or to be provided by a public retirement system, or
payments to a fund or insurer to provide an income for retirees, or
payment to retirees or their beneficiaries. No such retirement benefits
shall be negotiated pursuant to this article, and any benefits so
negotiated shall be void.
  (b) in addition, the terms and conditions of employment for
firefighters shall include discipline and disciplinary procedures
including alternatives to any statutory disciplinary system, provided,
however, that any right of firefighters under the terms of any state law
to elect coverage under either a statutory disciplinary system or a
disciplinary system established by collective negotiations shall not be
impaired, unless any such state law authorizes exclusivity of a
negotiated disciplinary system and provided further that no provision
contained in the town law, general city law, second class cities law,
general municipal law, municipal home rule law, county law, or other
state, local, special law or charter provision, or any special police
act or other special act created by local law or charter or otherwise
created, or this chapter shall prevent or impair the right to collective
bargaining for or modification of disciplinary procedures.
  5. The term "employee organization" means an organization of any kind
having as its primary purpose the improvement of terms and conditions of
employment of public employees, except that such term shall not include
an organization (a) membership in which is prohibited by section one
hundred five of this chapter, (b) which discriminates with regard to the
terms or conditions of membership because of race, color, creed or
national origin, or (c) which, in the case of public employees who hold
positions by appointment or employment in the service of the board and
who are excluded from the application of this article by rules and
regulations of the board, admits to membership or is affiliated directly
or indirectly with an organization which admits to membership persons
not in the service of the board, for purposes of any provision of this
article other than sections two hundred ten and two hundred eleven of
this article.
  6. (a) The term "government" or "public employer" means (i) the state
of New York, (ii) a county, city, town, village or any other political
subdivision or civil division of the state, (iii) a school district or
any governmental entity operating a public school, college or
university, (iv) a public improvement or special district, (v) a public
authority, commission, or public benefit corporation, (vi) any other
public corporation, agency or instrumentality or unit of government
which exercises governmental powers under the laws of the state, or
(vii) in the case of a county sheriff's office in those counties where
the office of sheriff is an elected position, both the county and the
sheriff, shall be designated as a joint public employer for all purposes
of this article.
  (b) Upon the application of any government, the board may determine
that the applicant shall be deemed to be a joint public employer of
public employees in an employer-employee negotiating unit determined
pursuant to section two hundred seven of this chapter when such
determination would best effectuate the purposes of this chapter.
  7. (a) The term "public employee" means any person holding a position
by appointment or employment in the service of a public employer, except
that such term shall not include for the purposes of any provision of
this article other than sections two hundred ten and two hundred eleven
of this article, judges and justices of the unified court system,
persons holding positions by appointment or employment in the organized
militia of the state and persons who may reasonably be designated from
time to time as managerial or confidential upon application of the
public employer to the appropriate board in accordance with procedures
established pursuant to section two hundred five or two hundred twelve
of this article, which procedures shall provide that any such
designations made during a period of unchallenged representation
pursuant to subdivision two of section two hundred eight of this chapter
shall only become effective upon the termination of such period of
unchallenged representation. Employees may be designated as managerial
only if they are persons (i) who formulate policy or (ii) who may
reasonably be required on behalf of the public employer to assist
directly in the preparation for and conduct of collective negotiations
or to have a major role in the administration of agreements or in
personnel administration provided that such role is not of a routine or
clerical nature and requires the exercise of independent judgment.
Employees may be designated as confidential only if they are persons who
assist and act in a confidential capacity to managerial employees
described in clause (ii).
  (b) For the purposes of this article, assistant attorneys general,
assistant district attorneys, and law school graduates employed in
titles which promote to assistant district attorney upon admission to
the bar of the state of New York shall be designated managerial
employees, and confidential investigators employed in the department of
law shall be designated confidential employees.
  (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of any general, special or local
law or code to the contrary, for the purposes of this article and with
respect to the officers of a paid city fire department in a city of one
million or more inhabitants, members in the rank of deputy chief
designated as deputy assistant chief and higher shall be designated as
managerial and confidential employees and members in the rank of deputy
chief or lower shall not be so designated.
  (d) A substitute teacher or a person employed in a nonpedagogical
position who has received a reasonable assurance of continuing
employment in accordance with subdivision ten or eleven of section five
hundred ninety of the labor law which is sufficient to disqualify the
substitute teacher or person employed in a nonpedagogical position from
receiving unemployment insurance benefits shall be deemed to be an
employee of the school district or board of cooperative educational
services that has furnished such reasonable assurance of continuing
employment; provided however that for the purposes of this article only,
the determination of whether such reasonable assurance was furnished
shall be made as if such determination were made prior to the
promulgation by the United States department of labor of program letter
number 4-87, dated December twenty-fourth, nineteen hundred eighty-six.
  (e) Notwithstanding the provisions of any general, special or local
law or code to the contrary, for the purposes of this article and with
respect to the officers of a paid city police department, in a city of
one million or more inhabitants, members in the rank of captain
designated as assistant chief and higher shall be designated as
managerial and confidential employees; members in the rank of captain,
deputy inspector, inspector and deputy chief or lower shall not be so
designated, unless a final determination to the contrary results from a
petition to decertify (or from an action to otherwise designate any or
all such members as managerial or confidential employees), which
petition or action is or was initiated at any time prior to October
first, nineteen hundred eighty-four and such petition or action is not
withdrawn or otherwise discontinued.
  (f) The term "public employee" means any person employed by a school
district or board of cooperative educational services not otherwise
deemed to be a public employee pursuant to the provisions of this
subdivision, but who would be deemed a public employee under precedents
or standards utilized or promulgated by the board for determining
whether a person employed in a part-time, seasonal or casual position by
a public employer other than a school district or board of cooperative
educational services would be a public employee under paragraph (a) of
this subdivision, taking into account the length of the school day and
school year.
  (g) Notwithstanding the provisions of any general, special or local
law or code to the contrary, for the purposes of this article and with
respect to employees of a city school district having a population of
one million or more inhabitants, members in a title of school plant
manager shall be designated as managerial and confidential employees in
the noncompetitive classification.
  8. The term "state public authority" means a public benefit
corporation or public corporation, a majority of the members of which
are (i) appointed by the governor or by another state officer or body,
(ii) designated as members by virtue of their state office, or (iii)
appointed or designated by any combination of the foregoing.
  9. The term "strike" means any strike or other concerted stoppage of
work or slowdown by public employees.
  10. The term "chief executive officer" in the case of school
districts, means the superintendent of schools in school districts
employing their own superintendents, and in school districts under the
jurisdiction of a district superintendent of schools, shall mean the
principal of the district.
  11. The term "legislative body of the government," in the case of
school districts, means the board of education, board of trustees or
sole trustee, as the case may be.
  12. The term "agreement" means the result of the exchange of mutual
promises between the chief executive officer of a public employer and an
employee organization which becomes a binding contract, for the period
set forth therein, except as to any provisions therein which require
approval by a legislative body, and as to those provisions, shall become
binding when the appropriate legislative body gives its approval.