AWC continues to work on improving union privilege bill

The bill to create a new legal privilege between unions and union members advanced last week. There is still some hope that final amendments can be worked out that will address AWC’s concerns with the current bill draft and allow an appropriate level of confidentiality between unions and their members.

HB 1187 made its way out of the Senate Law & Justice Committee on March 28 on a party-line vote ahead of last week’s policy committee cutoff, but not without some verbal commitments from the Committee’s chair to continue working on the bill. We last wrote about the bill here.

AWC recommended some amendments that helped clarify the bill and align the proposed privilege with other legal privileges in statute. The amendments aimed to make clear that the union member privilege is waived if the union is called to testify as a witness (like most other privileges), clarify that the privilege rests with the union member, and clarify that the privilege doesn’t interfere with mandatory reporting or an employer’s regular duties to investigate and take action against workplace misconduct.

The amendments failed to get enough votes in the Committee, but Chair Manka Dhingra said that some of the amendments had merit and committed to continue conversations on the bill to find a workable middle ground. AWC will continue to work with Sen. Dhingra and other legislators to ensure the final version of the bill addresses our concerns and treats cities fairly.

HB 1187 is now waiting to be scheduled for a floor vote in the Senate.