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.
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.
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.”
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.
In Clark County Sheriff, the Arbitrator held the employer did not violate the CBA when it denied a Ohio deputy sheriff’s compensatory leave. The Arbitrator stated that the employer had proved that it did not have “sufficient manpower” available at the time that the deputy had requested compensatory leave in compliance with the CBA.
In Federal Bureau of Prisons an arbitrator found that the Union failed to carry it burden of proof in proving that an Officer was “bullied” by his Commanding Officer, “Captain T.” The union attempted to prove that the Captain’s behavior should be seen as a precursor to work violence, which the CBA expressly states, cannot be tolerated. The agency however held that discipline is to be expected and the Officer was not singled by his superiors.
In Allegheny County Jail, a Pennsylvania arbitrator found that the county violated its CBA when it expanded its random call provision to include officers with suspensions unrelated to violations of the Sick Leave Policy. The CBA provision at issue allowed management to randomly call any officer that called in sick to ascertain and/or confirm the illness or injury. But the random phone calls where only supposed to be made to an officer who has reached “suspension level” in the progressive disciplinary procedure.
In County of Allegheny, 134 LA 134 (Heekin 2014) the arbitrator upheld a discharge of a corrections officer who used his sick time, rather than his vacation time, to travel to Dallas for a photo shoot for a body building magazine. The Officer's participation was confirmed with posted pictures of his photo shoot on Facebook. The arbitrator found just cause for the Officer’s discharge given that the CBA stated that sick leave was “not a right of taking” such as vacation and the fact that a poor discipline record including a recent last chance agreement. The arbitrator rejected the Union’s claim that there was a “right” to use sick leave as if it was a form of vacation.
In Prince George's County v. Prince George's County Police Civilian Employees Association, a Maryland appellate court vacated an arbitrator’s decision which had reinstated a civilian employee with the Prince George’s County Police Department. The Court rejected the arbitrator’s conclusion that the civilian employee must be informed of his right to have a Union representative present before being subjected to questioning that may lead to discipline by the County. The Court stated that expanding the requirement of Weingarten rights to “employees that are the focus of a criminal investigation violated public policy.”
In City of Tampa, 133 LA 1128 (Smith, 2013) the arbitrator held that an officer who was discharged for violating excessive force should be reinstated. The arbitrator found that the City of Tampa (Employer) did not consider the officers lack of previous discipline and potential for retraining.
