The Illinois Labor Relations Board found earlier this week that the City of Chicago engaged in an unfair labor practice when it expanded it expanded its body camera program beyond the “pilot program” to which the parties had agreed.
However, Labor Relations Board Administrate Law Judge Anna Hamburg-Gal disagreed with the City, stating that there was, in fact, a material change to the officers’ terms and conditions of employment resulting from the extension of the body worn camera program. Hamburg-Gal stated the program impacted employee discipline, safety and privacy with bargainable effects.
Specifically mentioned in her decision, Hamburg-Gal states that the program created greater opportunities for employee discipline by having the potential to record more of an employee’s work time than that in the in-car camera program. Additionally, officers must wear the cameras at all times and can be disciplined for losing them. The program also presents the distinct safety issue raised when their stealth mode feature fails and the indicator light remains active during covert operations. Last, the cameras raise concerns over officers’ privacy by having the potential to record individuals while in the restroom.
While the City challenges the Union’s argument by stating the Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act preempts the bargaining agreement with the Union, Hamburg-Gal rules otherwise. She wrote in her decision,
“The Illinois Public Labor Relations Act specifies that other laws that pertain, in part, to matters that impact terms and conditions of employment ‘shall not be construed as limiting the duty to bargain collectively.’”Hamburg-Gal continues by asserting that the Union remains entitled to bargain for greater officer protections than those laid out in the Worn Body Cameras Act.