In Minnesota Department of Corrections, an Arbitrator ruled that various Unions failed to demonstrate a binding past practice of paying employees for misallocated overtime when the Employer made errors in overtime distribution.
In City of Webster Grove, Missouri, Arbitrator Peña denied the grievances alleging that the City went back on its agreement to pay employee firefighters up to 6-months of differential pay when they are completing military service instead of the 120 hours designated in the City policy. Because the Union did not negotiate the collective bargaining agreement to include the updated military leave policy, and the City’s evidence that the policy was never changed was more credible, Arbitrator Peña held that unit members are only entitled to the 120-hours.
In Grant County Sheriff’s Office, Arbitrator Latsch granted a grievance regarding management’s decision to unilaterally change the scheduling system for the Corrections Officers. He ordered Grant County to reinstate the schedule that was in effect prior to the unilateral change and to bargain any further changes to scheduling with the union.
In Saginaw County Sheriff's Office, a Michigan arbitrator ruled that the Saginaw County Sheriff's Office had not violated its CBA by refusing to pay a corrections deputy retroactive pay owed to the police officers in the same bargaining unit.
Arbitrator Matthew M. Franckiewicz found that the Employer, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, correctly denied access to paid parental leave to Officer Randy Alexander. Allegheny Cnty., 2021 BL 159834, 2021 BNA LA 32Although the language in a new interest arbitration award allowed the leave to be taken at any point within the first 12 months of a birth, Arbitrator Frankiewicz held that the interest arbitrator’s award, which specifically ordered the new language on a nonretroactive basis, was only meant to apply to births that occurred after the award was published.
Arbitrator Patrick Halter found that a union representing federal corrections officers in Seagoville, Texas, failed to file a timely grievance on an alleged arbitrator transfer when it believed four of its members had been transferred arbitrarily. Halter ruled in Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2020 BNA 1413 that even though the employer failed to respond to the grievance in a timely manner, a greater error was made by the Union in failing to file a grievance within the 40 days allowed in the CBA.
Arbitrator Kenneth J. Latsch found that the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department had just cause to terminate Officer Raymond Cuevas for accessing the department database in furtherance of a romantic relationship. The termination occurred after the Department sustained “conduct unbecoming an officer” charges against Cuevas when he accessed the Department’s database to locate the address of a former romantic interests’ new boyfriend who he then confronted at the discovered address.
In Village of Skokie, 2020 BNA LA 1311, Arbitrator Sinclair Kossoff found that the employer did not violate the CBA when it denied an Officer’s bereavement pay request. The Union argued that vacation should be converted to bereavement leave when applicable. But the Arbitrator concluded that the Union position was not supported by CBA language.
In Tualatin Fire and Rescue District, 2020 BNA 1300, an Oregon Fire District implemented a 42-hour work schedule following failed negotiations with the International Association of Firefighters local representing a group of Oregon firefighters. Because the parties had specific CBA language requiring Union agreement for any schedule changes, Arbitrator Kenneth James Latsch ruled that Management violated the agreement when it implemented the new schedule without doing first gaining Union approval and ordered the payment of overtime as an appropriate remedy.
In The Geo Group, Arbitrator Samuel Nicholas found that a detention center had just cause to terminate five corrections officers who had engaged in misconduct and then sought to cover the misconduct up. After one officer left his post in violation of detention center rules, four others amended statements about the incident. The Arbitrator found that the employer had conducted a thorough and fair investigation that produced clear and convincing evidence of misconduct. As a result, the termination of these four employees was upheld.
