Nevada Supreme Court Rules On Court Employees Organizing Rights

 After two years of organizing and winning representation rights with the Eight Judicial District Court, the Nevada Supreme Court amended it rules to allow court employees to participate in employee organization and to negotiate a contract with such employees.  The request of the Nevada Supreme Court to amend its rules was acomplished through a petition filed by Chief District Judges Kathy Hardcastle and Judge Valorie J. Vega. The Rules were signed November 17th., 2008. Since passage of these rules, CWA was able to achieve dues deduction for the District Court Marshals. In the last Session of the Nevada State Legislator, CWA was able achieve amendments to  the Nevada Revised Statue which allowed the  District Court Balliffs in the Eight Judicial District Court  to become District Court Marshals> this legislation also  changed their catagory status form catagory 3 law enforcement officer to a Catagory 1. District Court Marshals  will receive the necessary training from the Clark County Sheriffs Department.

The rules state the following

"Rule 1.53  Court employees participating in recognized employee organizations.

(a)  The Court may, at its discretion, allow a subset of its employees to join and employee organization recognized by the court to negotiate a contract with such employee organization regarding terms and conditions of court employees

(b) The court may also, at its discretion, prohibit specific enployee from joining shcu employee organizations.These employees include, but are not limited to, the following:
     (1)   Judicial executive assistants:
     (2)  Law Clerks;
     (3) Staff attorneys; and
     (4)  Court employees who hold management positions with the court


©)  The court shall not discriminate in any way against court employees based upon their membership or nonmembership in an employee organization recognized by the court.

(d)  The court's recognition of an employee organization does not preclude any court employee who is not a memebr of that organization from acting for himself with respect to any condition of his employment, but any action taken on a request or in adjustment of a grievance shall be consistant with the terms of an application negotiated agreement, if any.

(e)  As used in this section:

    (1) "Court employee" means any employee who is employed by the Eight judicial District Court and any employee working under the clerk of the court.
     (2)  "Employee organization" means an organization having as one of its primary purposes improvement of the terms and conditions of employment of court employees.