By 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.
By Jim Cline and Geoff Kiernan
An arbitrator found that while a Portland police captain committed the numerous offenses at issue during the grievance hearing, the city did not have just cause for the indefinite demotion of the officer. Given the Police Captain’s 23 year history without discipline and the fact that the officer was in counseling to address some of the issues, the arbitrator found that a 60-day suspension was more appropriate.
By Jim Cline and Geoff Kiernan
In City of Sparks, an arbitrator ruled that while the Nevada city had improperly denied an Officer access to an attorney during an investigation, the city still had just cause to terminate him when he voluntarily consented to a drug test, which later tested positive for Methadone. Furthermore, the arbitrator found that fact two months after his termination the officer was still illegally abusing methadone confirmed that he was still unfit for light duty.
By Jim Cline and Geoff Kiernan
In the City of Piqua, an Ohio Arbitrator found just cause for the discipline of an off-duty police officer who violated several departmental policies in an attempt to “catch” the teens who toilet papered his house. The arbitrator held that while the officer was within his rights to chase after the perpetrator, he nevertheless went beyond his legal authority and disobeyed the orders of on-duty police officers on the scene.
By 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.
By 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.
By 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.
By 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.
By 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.
By: 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.”
