§ 1-1. Definitions.

(a) In general.

(b) Appropriate unit.

"Appropriate unit" means a group of employees recognized as appropriate for representation by an employee organization.

"Budget submission date" means the date by which, under the law, the proposed budget of the employer is submitted to the City Council by the Board of Estimates for final action.

(d) Employee.

(1) "Employee" means any person holding a position in the service of the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, required by Article VII, § 99 of the City Charter to be classified.

(2) "Employee" shall not include:

(i) those employees in the Baltimore City Public School System who are included within the definition of "public school employee" contained in § 6-401(c)(1) of the State Education Article;

(ii) employees of the Police Department;

(iii) part-time (other than regular part-time), seasonal, probationary, provisional, or temporary employees;

(iv) employees engaged in personnel work in other than a clerical capacity;

(v) employees occupying positions which involve a relation of personal confidence between the one appointing and the one appointed; or

(vi) those classified employees whose salaries are established by any agency other than the Mayor and City Council.

(3) In case of doubt, the Labor Commissioner shall determine who is an employee within the meaning of this article.

(e) Employee organization.

(1) "Employee organization" means any organization which admits municipal employees to membership, the primary purpose of which is to represent employees concerning terms and conditions of employment.

(2) "Employee organization" shall not include any organization which discriminates because of race, color, creed, or national origin, with regard to the acquisition or retention of membership, or in accepting or advancing members in any training, apprenticeship, or employment program.

(3) No "employee organization" shall be certified as the representative of employees in a unit of professional and/or supervisory employees if such organization admits to membership or is affiliated in any way with an organization which admits to membership rank and file employees; however, the provisions of this sentence shall not apply to employee organizations representing fire officers and registered nurses.

(f) Employer.

"Employer" means the Board of Estimates or any agency of the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore other than the City Council.

(g) Grievance.

"Grievance" means:

(1) a dispute concerning the application or interpretation of the terms of a memorandum of understanding, or

(2) a claimed violation, misinterpretation, or misapplication of the rules or regulations of a municipal agency or the employer affecting the terms and conditions of employment.

(h) Professional employee.

"Professional employee" means any employee engaged in work:

(1) which is predominantly intellectual and varied in character as opposed to routine mental, manual, mechanical, or physical work;

(2) which involves the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment in its performance, of such a character that the output produced or the result accomplished cannot be standardized in relation to a given time period; and

(3) which requires knowledge of an advanced type in a field of science or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction and study in an institution of higher learning or a hospital, as distinguished from a general academic education or from an apprenticeship or from training in the performance of routine mental, manual, or physical processes.

(i) Secondary boycott.

"Secondary boycott" means any activity by an employee organization which is intended to induce, encourage, or coerce persons doing business with the employer to withhold, withdraw, or in any respect curtail their business relations with said employer.

(j) Strike.

"Strike" means, by concerted action, the failure to report for duty, the willful absence from one's position, the stoppage or slow down of work, or the abstinence in whole or in part from the full, faithful, and proper performance of the duties of employment for the purpose of inducing, influencing, coercing, or preventing a change in compensation or rights, privileges, obligations, or other terms and conditions of employment.

(k) Supervisory employees.

(1) "Supervisory employees" means those employees having the authority to exercise independent judgment in the interest of the employer, to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward, or discipline other employees, or having the responsibility to direct them or adjust their grievances, or effectively to recommend such action, if in connection with the foregoing the exercise of such authority is not of a routine or clerical nature but requires the use of independent judgment.

(2) Notwithstanding anything herein contained, any employee who receives cash payments for overtime pursuant to the rules of the Board of Estimates shall not be deemed to be a supervisory employee, unless said employee is a department head, bureau head, or division head.

(3) Provided, further, that the provisions of subsection (d) hereof excluding from coverage under this article employees occupying positions which involve a relation of personal confidence between the one appointing and the one appointed shall not be applicable to supervisory employees.

(l) Terms and conditions of employment.

"Terms and conditions of employment" means salaries, wages, hours, and other matters relating to employee benefits and duties, such as, but not limited to, holidays, pensions, and vacations.