SB 417: Public Officers and Employees; public employees to self-organize or to be represented by a labor organization and bargain collectively with the state; authorize

Georgia law currently bars collective bargaining for most public employees. This bill would reverse that by adding a new article to the state's public employment law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 19 of Title 45) giving public employees the right to form or join labor organizations and negotiate wages, hours, and working conditions with their government employers. It creates a new Georgia Public Employees Relations Board, appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate, to oversee union certification elections, handle unfair labor practice complaints, and resolve bargaining impasses through arbitration. Firefighters and law enforcement officers would each be treated as their own separate bargaining units. Strikes by public employees would remain illegal, and the bill sets up court injunctions to stop them. The bill also repeals several existing laws that blocked collective bargaining, including one for school employees and one covering firefighter wage disputes, and it amends the criminal extortion law so that good-faith bargaining is not treated as extortion. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.

• Creates a new legal right for public employees (state, county, city, and other government workers) to organize and bargain collectively with their employer over wages, hours, and working conditions.
• Establishes the Georgia Public Employees Relations Board, a three-member panel appointed by the Governor, to certify unions, run elections, and resolve labor disputes.
• Prohibits public employees and unions from striking, and allows the board or employers to seek court injunctions to stop a strike.
• Sets up procedures for union certification elections, decertification votes, grievance procedures, arbitration of bargaining impasses, and unfair labor practice complaints with appeal rights to superior court.
• Treats firefighters and law enforcement officers as separate bargaining units from other public employees.
• Repeals existing state laws that blocked collective bargaining for school system employees and firefighters, and removes bargaining participation from the definition of criminal extortion (O.C.G.A. § 16-8-16).

Public employees at every level of Georgia government, including state agencies, counties, cities, school districts, and the University System of Georgia, along with firefighters and law enforcement officers specifically. Public employers, labor unions, the Governor's office, and superior courts that would handle appeals and injunctions are also directly affected.

If enacted, government workers across Georgia could form unions and negotiate contracts covering pay and job conditions for the first time under state law, changing how disputes with public employers get resolved. Strikes would remain banned, and a new state board would referee union elections and complaints, adding a new layer of process to public sector labor relations.

• Section 1-1 adds new Code Sections 45-19-70 through 45-19-86, defining terms like 'public employee,' 'strike,' and 'collective bargaining' and creating the bargaining framework.
• Code Section 45-19-73 creates the three-member Georgia Public Employees Relations Board, appointed by the Governor with Senate confirmation, including one employer representative, one employee representative, and one public representative.
• Code Section 45-19-74 sets rules for unions to get certified as bargaining agents, including a requirement that at least 30% of employees in a unit sign statements supporting representation before an election.
• Code Section 45-19-76 makes firefighters and law enforcement officers separate bargaining units with their own collective bargaining rights.
• Code Section 45-19-72 bans public employees and unions from striking but allows picketing, bannering, or handbilling under existing restrictions.
• Code Section 45-19-82 defines unfair labor practices for both employers and unions, such as refusing to bargain in good faith or retaliating against employees who file complaints.
• Section 2-1 amends the theft by extortion law (O.C.G.A. § 16-8-16) so that lawful good-faith bargaining is not treated as criminal extortion.
• Sections 2-2, 2-3, and 2-5 repeal and reserve existing laws that barred collective bargaining for school employees, firefighters, and public employees generally.

1. 2026-01-27Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2026-01-16Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Nikki Merritt (D, SD-009)Primary sponsor
• Harold Jones (D, SD-022)
• Nan Orrock (D, SD-036)
• Sheikh Rahman (D, SD-005)
• Kenya Wicks (D, SD-034)
• Donzella James (D, SD-028)
• Sally Harrell (D, SD-040)
• Kim Jackson (D, SD-041)
• Jaha Howard (D, SD-035)
• Nabilah Islam Parkes (D, SD-007)
• RaShaun Kemp (D, SD-038)
• Elena Parent (D, SD-044)
• Freddie Sims (D, SD-012)

• public employee unions
• collective bargaining
• firefighters and police
• labor law
• state government workers