Collective Bargaining and Job Benefits: The Case of Florida Deputy Sheriffs

Abstract

In 2003, the Florida Supreme Court lifted the ban that prohibited sheriff deputies from engaging in collective bargaining. Borrowing data from the Criminal Justice Agency Profile, an annual census of Florida law enforcement agencies, this study asks two questions. First, what impact does the decision have on job benefits? Second, would restricting analysis to agencies with 100+ sworn members alter the findings? Fixed-effects panel data analyses reveal a noteworthy effect on starting salaries. Focusing on just larger agencies leads to a dramatic underestimation of the decision’s impact. The timeliness of this study is appraised in light of pending federal legislation.