Section 1640 - Rights unaltered(a) A collective bargaining agreement shall not infringe upon any rights of service recipients or their surrogates to hire, direct, supervise, or discontinue the employment of any particular independent direct support provider.(b) Nothing in this section shall alter the rights and obligations of private sector employers and employees under the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 151 et seq.(c) Independent direct support providers shall not be considered State employees for purposes other than collective bargaining, including for purposes of joint or vicarious liability in tort or the limitation on liability in subsection (e) of this section. Independent direct support providers shall not be eligible for participation in the State Employee Retirement System or health care plan solely by virtue of bargaining under this chapter. Nothing in this chapter shall require the State to alter its current practice with respect to independent direct support providers of making payments regarding Social Security and Medicare taxes, federal or State unemployment contributions, or workers' compensation insurance.(d) Nothing in this chapter shall infringe upon the right of the Judiciary and the General Assembly to make programmatic modifications to the delivery of State services through subsidy or other programs.(e) The State and its employees shall not be vicariously liable for any act or omission by an independent direct support provider or any claim arising out of the employment relationship between a service recipient and an independent direct service provider, nor shall the State be liable as a joint employer.Added 2013, No. 48 , § 1, eff. 5/24/2013.