By: Jim Cline and Geoff Kiernan
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.
By: Jim Cline and Geoff Kiernan
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.
By Jim Cline and Geoff Kiernan
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.
By Jim Cline and Jordan L. Jones
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.”
By Jim Cline and Jordan L. Jones
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.
By Jim Cline and Jordan L. Jones
In Seneca County Sheriff’s Office, 133 LA 1113 (Harlan, 2014) the arbitrator held that there was just cause to discharge a corrections officer (officer) for falsifying records relating to his job duties. The arbitrator found that the Officer had falsified records to hide the fact that he did not actually perform walkthroughs of jail cells.
Jim Cline and Geoff Kiernan
In Mariano v. Borough of Dickson City, the Court held that the Borough may have violated an officer’s right to due process when the police chief removed him from the work schedule without a proper hearing. The Court disagreed with the City’s assertion that since the Officer was a part time employee he did not have a protected interest in his employment. The Officer had raised questions about his contract rights which was then followed by a meeting with the Police Chief in which the officer was accused of misconduct and then told he was being removed from the schedule.
By Jim Cline and Geoff Kiernan
In State of Alaska, 133 LA 1436 (DiFalco 2014) an arbitrator ruled that the State properly paid Correction Officers who voluntarily demoted themselves back to a lower classification, even though the result was that they were paid less than if they had not been promoted in the first place. The arbitrator conceded that while the results of this were unfair to several Corrections Officers, he stressed that it was not his job to do what was fair but to interpret the contract language as it appeared in the CBA.
By Jim Cline and Jordan Jones
In City of Oakland Park, the arbitrator held that there was not just cause to discharge a Florida firefighter for using marijuana while off-duty. The arbitrator cited the firefighter’s excellent work history and other mitigating circumstances.
By Mitchell Riese and Mitchel Wilson
In Sube v. City of Allentown, the Court denied the Defendant City’s motion for summary judgment and permitted the employee’s disability discrimination claims under the ADA to proceed to trial. As the City was aware of Sube’s injury and later terminated him soon after he sought to bring discrimination charges with the EEOC.
