The Department of Labor Relations (DLR) got it right in finding no bargaining obligations where an employer sought to maintain cleanliness at the workplace. In City of Boston, 45 MLC 126 (March 15, 2019), the City implemented new food guidelines in the operations room without prior notice to the Union. The Union filed a charge at the DLR, claiming that the City was required to bargain over the guidelines because they resulted in “inconveniences” to employees.
The hearing officer determined the guidelines were not mandatory subjects of bargaining, finding that the Department’s interests outweighed any inconvenience that resulted from having to drink out of a spill proof container or walk across the hall to eat in the designated area. Ironically, the guidelines were initially issued in response to employee complaints about the unsanitary nature of the operations room. In this situation, the City did the right thing in addressing the complaints and not giving in to the Union’s irrational demand to bargain over mere inconveniences.
