Originally from Dispute Resolution Journal

Among the major features of the "rules of the game" for collective bargaining in the public sector are diversity and variation. The decentralized nature of public sector labor relations, as evidenced by the variety of legislation, court decisions, opinions of Attorney Generals and local ordinances and resolutions, makes the identification of patterns and trends most difficult. This is particularly true with respect to the framework provided for resolving disputes resulting from a breakdown of negotiations between the parties to collective bargaining.

The primary focus of this paper is upon the interest dispute settlement framework as provided by state legislation. However, a brief review of dispute settlement procedures at the federal level is also included. It is our purpose to identify patterns that have developed despite the wide diversity in public sector labor relations statutes. While it is not within the intended scope of this paper to go beyond the statutory framework of dispute settlement, in certain cases, executive orders and/or certain agency rules are included where appropriate.