July 1, 2016 by

Representing the Injured or Disabled Member: Newsletter Series

20150729211514-man-reading-book-hipsterJim Cline and Erica Shelley Nelson

Representing the Injured or Disabled Member Part 1: Introduction

This article is the 1st in a multiple part series covering the rights your injured and disabled members have and how you, as a union or guild representative, can best assist them.  Over the next two to three months, we’ll be publishing, in various segments, information on how state and federal laws protect your members who are hurt or otherwise unable to work. We’ll cover topics including disability discrimination law, the FMLA, job protection rights under the CBA, workers compensation, disability benefits, and the right to bring a civil lawsuit.

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Filed Under: Disability Discrimination, Workers Compensation
July 1, 2016 by

Shortage of Information Increases Safety and Job Security Hazards


Stick-Figures-Slips-Trips-FallsJim Cline and Erica Shelley Nelson

We have often said, “Knowledge is Power” and seemingly nowhere is that more true than in connection with the rights you and your members have when they are injured and disabled. Our experience in representing public safety labor organizations throughout the state is that there is a shortage of thorough or even accurate information about the rights of injured or disabled officers.

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Filed Under: Disability Discrimination, Workers Compensation
June 3, 2016 by

Federal District Court Finds Skagit County Deputy Has Valid First Amendment Claim After Being Terminated Following His Support of Opposing Sheriff Candidate But Dismisses Charge Based on Unsuccessful Arbitration Case

 freedom of speechBy: Erica Shelley Nelson and Sarah Burke

In Plancich v. County of Skagit, a Skagit County deputy sheriff was discharged for abuse of authority after he participated in a traffic stop that recovered property stolen from his relatives. The deputy alleged that the investigation into this conduct was retaliation for his support of an opponent in a Sheriff’s election and filed a First Amendment claim. The Federal District Judge Robert Lasnick found that the deputy had a triable issue because the investigation and his support of the opposing candidate occurred closely together and the Department had a history of discriminatory treatment for officers who supported the losing Sheriff’s candidate. But the Court dismissed the First Amendment claim, accepting the  County’s argument that an intervening arbitration decision finding just cause for the discharge which also held that there was no retaliatory claim precluded the First Amendment lawsuit under the doctrine of “collateral estoppel.”

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Filed Under: Free Speech Rights
June 3, 2016 by

Washington Court of Appeals Finds Kitsap County Must Bargain Over Decision To Lay-Off Corrections Officers

 

man with clasped hands over termination of employment documentBy: Erica Shelley Nelson and Sarah Burke

In a precedent setting case, in Kitsap County v. Kitsap Cty. Corr. Officers’ Guild Inc., the Court of Appeals held that the County committed an unfair labor practice when it laid off two corrections officers without negotiations with the Kitsap County Corrections Guild. Facing the Guild’s demand to bargain, the County refused to bargain over the decision, asserting that the layoffs were not a mandatory subject of bargaining  The Court held that negotiations must precede the lay off decision.

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Filed Under: Duty to Bargain
April 28, 2016 by

Washington Court of Appeals Finds Police Officer Cannot Demonstrate He Involuntarily Resigned After Loudermill Hearing

By:  Erica Shelley Nelson and Sarah Burke

oktoberfest-beer-clipart-1In Celis v. City of Lakewood, a Hispanic officer alleged that he was constructively discharged after he resigned pending a disciplinary determination after his Loudermill hearing. The Court found that the officer’s fear of potential termination and decommission was not enough to amount to constructive discharge and granted the City’s motion for summary judgment.

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Filed Under: Discrimination and Retaliation
April 15, 2016 by

PERC Holds That Millwright Union Committed A Unfair Labor Practice When It Submitted A Permissive Subject Of Bargaining To Interest Arbitration

By: Jordan L. Jones

bus-stop-transit-blue-clip-artIn King County (Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 587), PERC held that ATU Local 587 committed a ULP when it submitted a permissive subject of bargaining to interest arbitration. Examiner De La Rosa found that King County’s decision to move the Millwrights from the Vehicle Maintenance Section to the Power & Facilities Section was a managerial prerogative and therefore a permissive subject of bargaining.

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Filed Under: Bad Faith Bargaining
April 15, 2016 by

PERC Holds That The Walla Walla Police Guild Did Not Waive By Inaction Its Right To Bargain A Department Policy Change

By: Jordan L. Jones

gun2In City of Walla Walla, PERC held that the Walla Walla Police Guild did not waive by inaction its right to bargain a department policy change.

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Filed Under: Duty to Bargain
April 15, 2016 by

Washington District Court Finds School’s Discharge of Superintendent for Extramarital Affair Could Be Unlawful Discrimination

By: Erica Shelley Nelson & Sarah Burke

In Buschoolhouse-clipart-simple-red-school-housesey v. Richland School District, the Eastern District of Washington found that a reasonable jury could conclude that a Superintendent had been wrongfully discriminated against for his extramarital affair with a para-educator. In his complaint, the Superintendent alleged the district had violated the Washington Law Against Discrimination (“WLAD”), in terminating him because of his extramarital affair. The district court found that because the Superintendent had provided direct evidence of this claim and a reasonable jury could find that the school district’s proffered reasons were pretextual, the claim could survive summary judgment and move forward.

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Filed Under: Employment Discrimination
April 15, 2016 by

The Commission Adopts A New Standard For Determining Whether An Employer Has A Duty To Bargain A Decision To Contract Out Bargaining Unit Work

By: Christopher J. Casillas & Jordan L. Jones

In Central Central WAWashington University, the Commission concluded that the existing standard for determining whether an employer had a duty to bargain a decision to contract out bargaining unit work was confusing and adopted a new standard. The Commission also affirmed the Examiner’s decision that (1) the employer contracted out bargaining unit work and (2) that the employer failed to provide requested information. The Commission reversed the Examiner’s decision and found that the employer circumvented the union and modified the remedy to include a monetary remedy for the employer’s failure to bargain the decision to contract out bargaining unit work.

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Filed Under: Duty to Bargain
April 15, 2016 by

Washington Court of Appeals Holds That State Trooper Could Bring Civil Suit for Workplace Injuries Under the Industrial Insurance Act After Being Shot By A Taser

By: Erica Shelley Nelson & Sarah Burke

taser2In Michelbrink v. Wash. State Patrol, Division II of the Washington Court of Appeals allowed a state trooper to proceed to trial in his civil suit for damages stemming from a compression fracture and bulged disk in his back under the “deliberate intention” exception of the Industrial Insurance Act (IIA). In his complaint, the trooper claimed that his employer’s knowledge that an injury would occur was enough to qualify under the deliberate intention exception. The Court of Appeals found that while every element of the deliberate intention exception should be narrowly construed, an employer does not need actual knowledge of the specific injury that occurs to be found liable.

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Filed Under: Workers Compensation
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