Washington Labor and Employment Blog
The latest case law and legal developments in Washington labor & employment law.
By Jim Cline and Sam Hagshenas
In King County, Examiner Casillas ruled that King County unilaterally changed the working conditions of King County Department of Public Defense (DPD) workers during a short-lived pilot program that transferred inmates out of the County.
[Read more…]By Jim Cline and Sam Hagshenas
In Arlington School District, the PERC Examiner found that the District had violated its duty to bargain and had skimmed bargaining unit work from the ironically named Arlington Non-Rep Group (NRG). The school district did not believe the NRG was a union, but prior practice demonstrated that the District had historically voluntarily recognized the NRG as a bargaining unit and thus violated its duty to bargain.
By Jim Cline and Sam Hagshenas
In King County, Examiner Willaford determined that the Union successfully proved the County violated its duty to bargain by making mandatory overtime a condition of employment. The Examiner ruled that King County’s practice of medically separating corrections officers with medical restrictions on working overtime was a unilateral change to a mandatory subject of bargaining.
By Jim Cline and Sam Hagshenas
In Okanogan County, Examiner Todd ruled that the County refused to bargain when it unilaterally contracted out bargaining unit work to third-party security contractors after making the representation that it was rescinding its proposal to reclassify a then-vacant bargaining unit position.
By Jim Cline and Sam Hagshenas
In University of Washington, Examiner Bradley ruled that University of Washington (UW) changing bargaining unit employees’ overtime eligibility status to comply with Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) rules was not a unilateral change to a mandatory subject of bargaining.
By Jim Cline and Peter Haller
In WA Interpreters v. PERC and Dept of Labor & Industries, the Washington State Court of Appeals affirmed a PERC decision which ruled that the bargaining rights of interpreters were not violated when the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) implemented a new policy during the pendency of a representation petition. The policy at issue related to working conditions as it controlled how the interpreters could schedule appointments and receive payments.
By Jim Cline & Peter Haller
In Bethel School District, Examiner Whitney partially dismissed a complaint that alleged that the Employer had engaged in direct dealing even though it had directly proposed a plan to employees without union representation present and misreported the status of the meetings to the union.
By Jim Cline
In a decision using scorching language in Snohomish County, Examiner Leonard entirely dismissed all 11 claims the Snohomish County Corrections Guild filed against Snohomish County. While the claims varied in issue, Examiner Leonard found that for each allegation, the Guild did not support their claims with sufficient evidence, failing to upload their burden of proof. The Guild’s conduct was characterized as reprehensible by the Examiner as he discussed whether to impose attorney fees for multiple frivolous claims.
By Jim Cline
In Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, Examiner Elizabeth Snyder found that the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (Employer) unilaterally changed working conditions for two Washington Federation of State Employees (Union) employees when it removed their new positions from the bargaining unit. The Employer’s unilateral change constituted a refusal to bargain because it changed the conditions of the employees’ employment and impacted working conditions, which are a mandatory subject of bargaining.
By James Cline and Stephen Hatton
In Spokane County, Decision 13435 (PECB, 2021), PERC Hearing Examiner Erin Slone-Gomez found that the County had violated its duty to bargain in good faith by insisting their negotiation sessions with the Corrections Union be open to the public. She found ground rules for negotiations to be a permissive subject of bargaining.
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