Pennsylvania’s Act 111 gives police officers and firefighters employed by the Commonwealth or any of its political subdivisions the right to bargain collectively over pay and working conditions, and the right to resolve stalled negotiations through binding arbitration instead of a strike. Enacted in 1968 and codified at 43 P.S. §§ 217.1–217.10, the statute is the primary source of leverage for officers and firefighters who, by law, cannot walk off the job.1Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 43 PS 217.1 – Right to Bargain
Who the Law Covers
Act 111 applies to anyone employed as a police officer or firefighter by the Commonwealth, a city, a borough, or a township. It does not cover private-sector security guards, volunteer firefighters, or most other public employees, who fall under the separate Public Employee Relations Act (Act 195).
Edge cases, such as campus police, park rangers, or housing authority officers, turn on what the person actually does. Pennsylvania courts ask whether the employee has legal authority to enforce Commonwealth law and whether they regularly exercise that authority as a core part of their job. Both conditions have to be met. A badge and a uniform alone do not pull an administrative or parking-enforcement role into Act 111.1Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 43 PS 217.1 – Right to Bargain
Before bargaining starts, a labor organization or other representative must be designated by at least 50 percent of the officers or firefighters in the unit. Once that threshold is met, the representative speaks for the entire group and the employer must come to the table.1Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 43 PS 217.1 – Right to Bargain
What Has to Be Bargained
The statute requires the employer to negotiate compensation, hours, working conditions, retirement, pensions, and other benefits.2New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. 43 PS 217.1 – Right to Bargain In day-to-day terms, that means base salary, overtime rates, longevity pay, shift schedules, safety equipment, grievance procedures, health insurance, and pension contributions. The employer cannot change those terms on its own.
What stays off the table are core management decisions: the department’s overall mission, how many officers to hire, where to put stations, how to restructure operations. These are management prerogatives. The impact of those decisions on employees, though, is often bargainable. If a station closes and shifts get reassigned, the effects on the affected officers have to be negotiated even when the underlying decision does not.
Bargaining Timeline and the Arbitration Trigger
Act 111 sets two hard deadlines tied to the employer’s fiscal year. Collective bargaining must begin at least six months before the fiscal year starts. Any request for arbitration must be filed at least 110 days before that same date.3Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Act No. 111 The timing is designed to settle labor costs before the municipality finalizes its budget.
Negotiations start with a formal written notice. If the parties hit a wall, the statute defines an impasse as the failure to reach a written agreement within 30 days after bargaining began.4Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 43 PS 217.4 – Impasse, Failure to Approve Agreement Either side can then send a written arbitration request to the other. That request has to list every issue still in dispute. Anything left off the list is generally excluded from arbitration, and Pennsylvania courts enforce the deadline strictly, so missing the 110-day window or omitting an issue can forfeit the right to have it decided.
There is a second route into arbitration. Even when the negotiators reach a deal, the municipality’s governing body still has to approve it. If the lawmaking body fails to approve within one month for a political subdivision, or six months for the Commonwealth, the agreement is deemed rejected and either party can move to arbitration.4Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 43 PS 217.4 – Impasse, Failure to Approve Agreement
How the Arbitration Panel Works
Act 111 disputes go to a three-member Board of Arbitration. The employer appoints one member, the employee organization appoints one, and those two select a neutral third member who chairs the panel.4Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 43 PS 217.4 – Impasse, Failure to Approve Agreement Each side must name its arbitrator within five days of the arbitration request. The party-appointed arbitrators then have 10 days to pick a chair. If they cannot agree, either one can ask the American Arbitration Association for a list of three qualified Pennsylvania residents, and the two arbitrators strike names in turn until one is left.
Once the chair is seated, the board must begin hearings within 10 days and issue a written determination within 30 days after the chair’s appointment.4Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 43 PS 217.4 – Impasse, Failure to Approve Agreement Mutual extensions are common in complex cases. Both sides put on evidence and testimony in a quasi-judicial setting.
One feature catches many participants off guard. Act 111 says nothing about what factors the arbitrators must weigh. Unlike some states that require consideration of comparable wages, cost of living, or ability to pay, Pennsylvania gives the panel broad discretion. Outcomes can vary significantly depending on the neutral arbitrator’s approach and the strength of each side’s evidence.
What the Award Does
The majority decision is final and binding on both the employer and the employees, and the statute says no appeal shall be allowed to any court. The award operates as a mandate. For items a department head can handle administratively, such as adjusting pay scales or shift assignments, the changes get implemented directly. For items that require legislation, such as appropriating funds or amending an ordinance, the governing body must enact the necessary legislation within one month for a political subdivision or six months for the Commonwealth.5Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 43 PS 217.7
When legislation is required, the effective date is the first day of the fiscal year following enactment. A mid-cycle award will not blow up the current budget, but employees may wait longer to feel the full effect of a favorable ruling.
Who Pays for the Arbitration
The cost split is not even. The employees pay only for their own party-appointed arbitrator. The employer pays for its own arbitrator, the neutral chair’s fees, and all stenographic and other expenses the panel incurs.3Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Act No. 111 For smaller municipalities, the bill can be a meaningful budget item, especially in disputes that run multiple rounds or involve expert testimony on financial capacity.
Challenging an Award in Court
Despite the flat statutory bar on appeals, Pennsylvania courts have carved out a narrow path for judicial review called “narrow certiorari.” A reviewing court can look at only four questions: whether the arbitrators had jurisdiction, whether the proceedings were conducted properly, whether the arbitrators exceeded their powers, and whether either party was deprived of constitutional rights.6FindLaw. City of Philadelphia v Fraternal Order of Police A party that simply disagrees with the dollar amount or thinks the evidence was weighed poorly will not get relief. Courts overturn Act 111 awards only when the process itself was fundamentally flawed.
This is where the written notice of arbitration pays off, or does not. If an issue was never listed in the arbitration request but ends up in the award anyway, the losing side has a real argument that the arbitrators exceeded their powers. Getting the notice complete at the front end is the best protection against a defective award at the back end.