Public Safety – Sex on Duty, Facebook, Sexual Harassment, Intoxication and Domestic violenceArbitrator Jerry Fullmer overturned the termination of a Columbus, Ohio police officer who had been dismissed for allegedly having sex with prostitutes in his police vehicle while on duty. City of Columbus and Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9. Arbitrator Fullmer found that the failure to call the three alleged prostitutes as witnesses undermined the case for just cause. He…

Arbitrator Rolland Toenges upheld the termination of a Cloquet, MN police officer fired after the County Attorney notified the City that she would not use him as a witness. Arbitrator Toenges’ award can be found here.Grievant was employed as a police officer for the City of Cloquet, MN since June 1997. On February 25, 2019, the Carlton County Attorney notified the City that grievant was a “Brady Cop.” This designation was premised on three…

Dana Incorporated has filed a Complaint seeking to set aside an award of Arbitrator Daniel Kininmonth. The Company alleges that the Arbitrator filed to apply a Last Chance Agreement that he found to be applicable and to have been violated, and in doing so acted in excess of his authority. Grievant had been placed on a Last Chance Agreement following a prior termination for attendance issues. The LCA included a provision stating “You are expected…

That was the issue presented to Arbitrator Robert E. Light in Aramark Uniform & Career Apparel and Teamsters Local Union No. 769.Grievant was employed by Aramark as a Route Sales Representative. In acknowledgement  of his sales performance, he was invited to a Company recognition event consisting of a dinner and a limo to and from a Miami Heat basketball game. Alcohol was provided by the Company both at the dinner and in the limo.…

Arbitrator Thomas Cipolla overturned the termination of a San Antonio police officer who had been captured on a body camera using a racial slur during an arrest. Arbitrator Cipolla’s award can be found here. KSAT links to the video at San Antonio officer who repeatedly used N-word while arresting black man asks for job back.   The facts of the incident were largely undisputed. The Chief described at the arbitration  hearing why he made the decision that termination was appropriate:…

In  MV Transportation, Inc., the NLRB decided that it would no longer apply the “clear and unmistakable waiver” test in resolving charges that an employer had made unilateral changes in matters addressed in a collective bargaining agreement.  Instead, it would follow the “contract coverage” standard applied by a number of circuit courts. In a press release announcing its decision, the Board summarized the distinction between the two tests.Under the “contract coverage” or “covered by the contract”…

Teacher’s use of N word “under his breath” found insufficient to revoke tenureArbitrator Peter Adomeit rejected tenure charges against a teacher in a New Jersey school district who was alleged to have used the  word while in class. The tenure specification asserted that the teacher “quietly said to himself something to the effect of  ‘I’m done with these n…s’  or ‘I’m not trying to deal with these n…s’ while walking away from certain students who…