10.2190/68AP-TW8M-HEDG-950D 68APTW8MHEDG950D 0 FLORIDA'S PUBLIC SECTOR IMPASSE RESOLUTION PROCESS: AN ANALYSIS OF THE TENDENCIES OF LEGISLATIVE BODIES TO ACT CONSISTENTLY WITH SPECIAL MASTERS' RECOMMENDATIONS 20020509 20020509 20020509 20020509 http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=68APTW8MHEDG950D 2 JAMES P. SMITH, JR. Florida's 1968 constitution at once granted public sector employees the right to participation in collective bargaining and prohibited them from utilizing the strike in labor disputes. In lieu of the constitutionally prohibited strike, Chapter 447 of the Florida Revised Statutes, enacted to regulate public sector labor relations, provided for an impasse resolution process that utilized mediation or fact-finding. This study examines those aspects of the impasse resolution process involving Florida's special Masters (fact-finders), final actions of employing legislative bodies, and the degree to which legislative bodies' final actions are consistent with special masters' recommendations. The data from fiscal 1983-84 indicated that employing legislative bodies are 50 percent more likely to resolve impasse issues in a manner consistent with special masters' recommendation when those recommendations favor management as opposed to other alternatives.