September 27, 2018 By

Illinois Court upholds Arbitrator’s award to Union after Forest District Acted Arbitrarily

By: Loyd Willaford and Matt Baker

In Forest Preserve District of Cook County v. Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 166, two Forest Preservation sergeants challenged the Forest District’s decision to withhold overtime opportunities from them. The sergeants attempted to work shifts during which only one other sergeant was scheduled. A previous order by the District indicated that two sergeants would always be scheduled for these shifts. Relying on this policy, the sergeants submitted their names for overtime shifts but were denied. The sergeant’s Union challenged the District and an arbitrator issued the sergeants an award. The District appealed and an Illinois appellate court upheld the arbitrator award.

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Filed Under: Arbitration Rulings
May 15, 2017 By

Court Upholds Arbitration Award and Rules Connecticut Police Officer’s Lie Not Bad Enough to Violate Public Policy

By: Jim Cline and Geoff Kiernan

In Town of Stratford (Connecticut), the City attempted to vacate an arbitration decision that had reinstated a police officer who was discharged for lying to an independent neurologist by withholding medical information about his seizures and alcohol abuse.  The City argued that the police officer must be fired because there is a public policy against intentional dishonesty in connection with police employment. The Court agreed that while there was a public policy against intentional policy officer dishonesty in connection with employment, the dishonesty at issue here was not so extreme as to make the arbitrator’s award a violation of public policy.

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Filed Under: Arbitration Rulings, Discipline, Other Procedure issues, Prediscipline procedure
October 31, 2016 By

Deputy Who Allegedly Sexually Harassed Colleague Wins Job Back Because Workplace Was Generally Inappropriate

sopBy Erica Shelley Nelson and Sarah E. Derry

In Island County Deputy Sheriff’s Guild, Arbitrator Gary Axon found that the Employer, Island County, lacked just cause to terminate a deputy sheriff who had 13 years on the job for sexually harassing a coworker.  He instead ordered a 30-day suspension and a final warning notice that future sexual harassment will result in termination.

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Filed Under: Arbitration Rulings, Discipline
September 15, 2016 By

Arbitrator Reinstates but Demotes Island County Corrections Supervisor. Who Was Terminated Following Jail Death: Finds Jail’s Rules Were a “Train Wreck”

gavelBy Jim Cline and Sarah E. Derry

In Island County Deputy Sheriff’s Guild, Arbitrator Gary Axon ordered that a Corrections Lieutenant be reinstated, but demoted to Officer. Arbitrator Axon held that the Sheriff terminated the Lieutenant without Just Cause because she was fired for not following rules that the Jail management had never implemented and that would have been impossible to follow as written.

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Filed Under: Arbitration Rulings
September 12, 2016 By

Arbitrator Rules That Michigan Fire Department’s New Social Media Policy Is Vague, But Reasonable, However “Snitch” Provision Is Held to Be Unreasonable.

social-mediaBy Jim Cline and Geoff Kiernan

In the City of Bay City, a arbitrator ruled that Michigan Fire Department’s unilateral implementation of a new social media policy for firefighters was appropriate under the management rights clause as it was within managements purview to give employees guidance on their conduct. However, the arbitrator did find the provision which required firefighters to report violations of the policy or else face discipline as being unreasonable and therefore unenforceable.

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Filed Under: Arbitration Rulings
September 12, 2016 By

Arbitrator Overturns Discipline, Finding That Ohio County Jail Cannot Require Corrections Officers To Refrain From Defending Themselves

burdenBy Jim Cline and Geoff Kiernan

In Cuyahoga County Court, an arbitrator ruled that County did not meet its burden of proving just cause when it fired a detention officer for insubordination and excessive force. The arbitrator found that it was improper to fire the officer for insubordination because he did not explicitly understand the order, and he was not informed of the consequences of failing to follow the order. The arbitrator also ruled the court did not have just cause to discharge the officer for excessive force when he was only defending himself.

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Filed Under: Arbitration Rulings, Discipline
September 9, 2016 By

Arbitrator Rules That Absent A Contract Provision Minnesota Police Department Can Determine How To Classify Training Hours

calendarBy Jim Cline and Geoff Kiernan

In the City of Forest Lake, an arbitrator ruled that a Minnesota city did not violate its collective bargaining agreement when it required Officers who attended training on their days of to “flex” their work hours to limit overtime. Despite the fact that the Union tried to official repudiate the practice in bargaining the arbitrator found that this policy was not something that union was able to repudiate.

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Filed Under: Arbitration Rulings
August 29, 2016 By

Arbitrator Finds No Just Cause For Disciplining Seattle Dispatcher Over Call, But Upholds Discipline Anyway based on Separate Charge

911_Telecommunications_DispatcherBy Jim Cline and Sarah Derry

In Seattle Police Dispatchers’ Guild, Arbitrator Jeff Minckler determined that although the Seattle police department lacked just cause to discipline a dispatcher for a call, the other call over which he was disciplined was sufficient to uphold the punishment.

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Filed Under: Arbitration Rulings, Discipline
August 19, 2016 By

No Discipline For Port Orchard Detective Who Mishandled Evidence When His Mistake Did Not Cause The City’s Seven Year Delay In Case Investigation

mdicaalBy: Jim Cline and Sarah E. Derry

In Port Orchard Police Guild, Arbitrator James Lundberg found that a detective, who received a written reprimand for mishandling a cheek swab seven years before, was disciplined without just cause. The Arbitrator reasoned it was an old mistake, and that disciplining him now “serves no reasonable purpose.”

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Filed Under: Arbitration Rulings, Discipline
August 19, 2016 By

Arbitrator Finds That Chelan County Did Not Have Just Cause To Terminate A 19-Year Veteran Sergeant And That It’s Investigation Was “Neither Thorough Nor Was It Unbiased”

seargentBy: Jim Cline and Jordan L. Jones

In Chelan County, Arbitrator James A. Lundberg found that Chelan County did not have just cause to terminate a 19-year veteran Sergeant and ordered that he be reinstated with back pay as part of the decision’s “make whole” remedy. In a case handled by the Cline and Casillas firm, Lundberg rejected the County’s argument that Sergeant had “lied,” noting that the County overlooked many holes in its case.

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Filed Under: Arbitration Rulings, Discipline
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