What is the legal definition of the term “confidential employee” as used in a job description?
The term “confidential employee” has legal significance in the context of collective bargaining and is basically defined as an exception to the term “public employee” in RCW 41.56.030(2)(c); a “confidential employee” is an employee whose duties as deputy, administrative assistant or secretary necessarily imply a confidential relationship to (i) the executive head or body of the applicable bargaining unit, or (ii) any person elected by popular vote, or (iii) any person appointed to office pursuant to statute, ordinance or resolution for a specified term of office as a member of a multimember board, commission, or committee, whether appointed by the executive head or body of the public employer. In the context of state (not local agency) collective bargaining, there is a definition in RCW 41.80.005(4), and, in the context of higher education faculty labor relations, there is a definition in RCW 41.76.005(10). See also WAC 391-35-320 (PERC rule). So, if the term is used in a job descripti
