# School Board of Polk County v. Polk Education Ass'n

> District Court of Appeal of Florida · December 30, 1985 · 11 Fla. L. Weekly 77

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/7546491

## Case

- **Full name:** The SCHOOL BOARD OF POLK COUNTY v. POLK EDUCATION ASSOCIATION, INC. and the Florida Public Employees Relations Commission
- **Court:** District Court of Appeal of Florida
- **Decided:** December 30, 1985
- **Citations:** 11 Fla. L. Weekly 77; 480 So. 2d 1360; 1985 Fla. App. LEXIS 6066
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Concurrence by Zehmer
- **Judges:** Ervin, Wentworth, Zehmer
- **Cited by:** 2 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/7546491

## Opinion text

ZEHMER, Judge,
concurring specially.
I reluctantly concur with the majority opinion. The labor nexus test is applied in this instance to avoid the exclusion of the secretaries to the four area superintendents from a bargaining unit. Manifestly, this test is a judicially engrafted limitation on clear statutory language. PERC has apparently been applying the test for several years without any attempt by the legislature to alter that construction of the statutory language. Hence, I am persuaded by the authorities cited in the opinion, apart from the constitutional provision in article I, section 6, that PERC’s construction does not require reversal.
My reluctance to affirm this case stems from the obvious anomaly that results from the application of the labor nexus test to the area superintendents. The organizational structure of the school system in Polk County places the superintendent at the top, the four area superintendents directly under the superintendent, and the school principals under the area superintendents. The chain of command runs from the superintendent through the area superintendent to the principals, and vice versa. Secretaries to the superintendent and the principals are excluded from labor act bargaining units as confidential employees. Secretaries to the area superintendents are, by virtue of this decision, not so excluded. Quite apart from the labor-management considerations underlying the labor nexus test, I can conceive of many reasons why these latter four secretaries should not fall within an employee bargaining unit. In view of these reasons, I am not certain that the result in this case accords with the legislative intent to exclude confidential employees from bargaining units. Perhaps this matter should be revisited by the legislature. Or perhaps the school board will now allocate duties involving labor management negotiations and contract administration to the area superintendents.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/7546491. Public record. Not legal advice.