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Motion of the Council of Allegheny County directing Council's solicitor to evaluate the merits of filing an amicus curiae brief in the matter of Allegheny County Prison Employees Independent Union v. Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board.
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WHEREAS, on May 18, 2021 the voters of Allegheny County adopted a number of restrictions upon the use of force - specifically solitary confinement, a device known as the “restraint chair,” pepper spray, and leg shackles - within the Allegheny County Jail via ordinance enacted through the County’s Charter-guaranteed ballot initiative referendum process; and
WHEREAS, the Allegheny County Prison Employees Independent Union (“the union”) initially filed a Charge of Unfair Practices with the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board (“PLRB”) on July 2, 2021, in which the union argued that the referendum-enacted ordinance established changes to the terms and conditions of employment in the County Jail that must instead be subject to collective bargaining under the terms of the Commonwealth’s Public Employee Relations Act (PERA), specifically 43 P.S. §1101.1201(a)(1) and (a)(5); and
WHEREAS, on November 2, 2022, the PLRB’s Hearing Examiner circulated a Proposed Decision and Order dismissing the union’s Charge, and finding that the referendum-enacted changes were inherently managerial in nature, and therefore not subject to collective bargaining under the terms of PERA; and
WHEREAS, the union filed exceptions to the Proposed Decision and Order, which were also dismissed by the PLRB in its final order on September 19, 2023, in which the hearing officer’s findings were formally adopted; and
WHEREAS, the union then appealed the PLRB’s final order to the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court; and
WHEREAS, on May 30, 2025, the Commonwealth Court affirmed the PLRB’s final order (the Court’s opinion is attached to this motion); and
WHEREAS, the union then appealed the Commonwealth Court’s decision to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which granted allowance for appeal on December 2, 2025 (the Court’s order is also attached to this motion); and
WHEREAS, although no deadline has yet been established for the filing of amicus curiae briefs on the issues before the Court, it is expected that this deadline will fall in February of 2026 based on the briefing schedule for the union and PLRB; and
WHEREAS, while two of the three issues referenced in the allowance of appeal order involve technical interpretation of PERA and do not relate to County legislative matters, the third issue (relating to the impact of the use of force ordinance being enacted via referendum) may conceivably bear in some fashion on the County’s authority to legislatively govern managerial policy in its own jail; and
WHEREAS, it is the judgment of Council that there may be wisdom in filing an amicus curiae brief in this matter, due to the potential impact of the Court’s review and decision on the County’s legislative authority; and
WHEREAS, it is therefore the desire of Council to instruct its solicitor to review the issues and arguments presented in the case throughout its extensive history, and provide a recommendation to Council regarding the advisability and legal soundness of filing an amicus curiae brief no later than January 19, 2026; and
WHEREAS, based upon this recommendation, Council will make a final determination about whether to authorize such a filing no later than January 27, 2026;
NOW THEREFORE, IT IS MOVED, Council's solicitor is hereby directed to evaluate the merits of filing an amicus curiae brief in the matter of Allegheny County Prison Employees Independent Union v. Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board and to make a recommendation on such a filing to Council no later than January 19, 2026.