Baltimore library supervisors may join collective bargaining groups

Supervisory employees may form, join, and take part in an employee organization and related collective bargaining activities. This applies to full-time and part-time library employees who meet the law’s definition of supervisory employee; confidential and management employees are excluded from the general employee definition. The law takes effect July 1, 2026.

The law limits the number of bargaining units under this subtitle to two: one for nonsupervisory employees and one for supervisory employees. The limit applies to bargaining units established under the library’s collective bargaining subtitle. The law does not modify or end a bargaining unit recognized or in existence, or an agreement entered into, on or before June 30, 2026. The law takes effect July 1, 2026; the protection covers units recognized or agreements entered into on or before June 30, 2026.

An employee who can effectively recommend certain management actions may be treated as a management employee if the employee uses independent judgment and does more than routine or clerical work. This applies to library employees who effectively recommend actions such as hiring, assigning, or disciplining employees. One listed function alone does not necessarily make an employee a management employee. A job title alone cannot decide the classification; the nature of the work must be considered, including time spent working on a team with nonmanagement employees. The change takes effect July 1, 2026.