PERC Examiner Holds No Breach of Duty of Fair Representation by King County Metro in Withdrawing Grievances

By Jim Cline and Abagail Klonsinski

In King County Metro, Examiner Todd granted summary judgment for the Union, finding that the Union did not breach their duty of fair representation (DFR) when it withdrew his grievance from arbitration. The Complainant ultimately failed to produce evidence which showed the Union had acted in an arbitrary manner or bad faith when making their decision, so summary judgment was appropriate in favor of the Union.

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Arbitrator Reinstates King County Officer Following Double Jeopardy Violation

By Jim Cline and Abagail Klonsinski

In King County, Arbitrator Khoury sustained the grievance of a law enforcement officer in part, holding there had been failures on both sides, but that termination was not supported when one of the factors used to escalate discipline violated the principle of double jeopardy.

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PERC Examiner Finds Benton County Rightfully Assigned Injured Corrections Officer to Light Duty

By Jim Cline and Abagail Klonsinski

In Benton County, PERC Examiner Leonard dismissed the complaint alleging that the employer discriminated when it denied the complainant light duty.  Leonard concluded that there was insubstantial evidence to support complainant’s argument that his union activity was a substantial motivating factor in placing him on light duty.

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No Progressive Discipline Granted to City of Port Angeles Officer Charged of Dishonesty

By Jim Cline and Abagail Klonsinski

In City of Port Angeles, Arbitrator Susan Bauman found there was just cause to terminate a patrol officer who failed to meet the Department’s standards of ethical conduct. The Officer had failed to timely file a report regarding a potential sexual assault and was untruthful throughout an Internal Affairs investigation, which she concluded supported termination rather than lesser progressive discipline.

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Arbitrator Reinstates Lakewood Officer Discharged for Untruthfulness and Finds City Improperly Denied Him Access to Videos

By Jim Cline and Abagail Klonsinski

In City of Lakewood, Arbitrator Mayne ordered reinstatement and expungement of a police officer’s record after finding there was no just cause to terminate the Officer for untruthfulness.

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PERC Examiner Finds King County Corrections Guild Did Not Violate Duty of Fair Representation by Not Grieving Muslim Officer’s Vaccination Related Discharge

By Jim Cline and Abagail Klonsinski

In King County Corrections Guild, Examiner Slone-Gomez dismissed a case after finding a King County Corrections Officer failed to show that his union had breached its duty of fair representation (DFR) by refusing to file a grievance regarding his involuntary separation from the County.

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Arbitrator Reinstates Pierce County Deputy Terminated for Misconduct Related to Her Father’s Domestic Abuse Charges

By Jim Cline and Kim Lowe

In Pierce County, Arbitrator Clauss reinstated a deputy police officer, finding that the County failed to prove that she was intentionally dishonest or that she withheld any information material to a separate investigation. The Arbitrator applied the usual principles of just cause and progressive discipline and found that the department did not have just cause to terminate the Deputy.

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PERC Dismisses Two Petitions to Sever Certain Police Support Employees from Units of City Employees

By Jim Cline and Kim Lowe

In City of Bellingham and City of Issaquah, PERC Executive Director Sellars ruled that both units would stay intact, dismissing severance petitions that would have broken certain police support employees from the larger units. Director Sellars found that the disputed employees and their existing unit still share a community of interest in spite of certain member dissatisfaction issues. Sellars also noted that severance in Issaquah would create work jurisdiction disputes that did not exist before.

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US District Court in Fairfax County, Virginia, Allows Dispatcher Disability Suit to Go Forward, finding that County May Have Unreasonably Delayed Accommodations

By Cynthia McNabb and Kim Lowe

In Williams v. Fairfax Cnty., a District Court judge ruled that a police and fire dispatcher’s ADA suit could go forward on the theory that Fairfax County, Virginia engaged in unreasonable delay in granting the dispatcher’s request for accommodation.

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US District Court in Florida Rules Regular Attendance to be Necessary Qualifications for Department of Corrections Officers, Rejects Former Employee’s Disability Suit

By Cynthia McNabb and Kim Lowe

In Aponte v. Akima Global Services, a District Court judge ruled that the Miami, Florida-based Department of Corrections’ contractor, Akima Global, did not discriminate against its former employee when it terminated her for chronic absenteeism. Regular attendance is a valid job qualification for corrections officers and Aponte’s spinal injury prohibited her from fulfilling that job duty, among others.

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