October 19, 2022
By Jim Cline and Kim Lowe
In City of Tallahassee, Arbitrator Baroni upheld a police officer’s policy violation for failure to use de-escalation techniques with a suspect, however he reduced the discipline from an 8-hour suspension to a written reprimand. While several factors contributed to Baroni’s decision to reduce the discipline, the main one was that Tallahassee Police Chief Revell acknowledged he deliberated departed from the usual, more moderate discipline, to “set the tone for his expectations in the department.” Baroni held choice resulted in too severe a punishment.
Filed Under: Discipline
May 25, 2022
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.
Filed Under: Duty to Bargain, Uncategorized
May 25, 2022
By Jim Cline and Stephen Hatton
In Ben Franklin Transit, Hearing Examiner Dario De La Rosa found that a Teamsters Union Representative had engaged in bad faith bargaining because of his hostile, discriminatory, and abusive conduct at the bargaining table.
Filed Under: Duty to Bargain
May 23, 2022
By Jim Cline and Stephen Hatton
In City of Cashmere, Decision 13429 (PECB, 2021), PERC Hearing Examiner Elizabeth Snyder dismissed a Teamsters Local 760 complaint alleging that the City had refused to bargain over its decision to implement a facial-recognition timekeeping system. Examiner Snyder rejected the City claim that the Teamsters had waived their right to bargain in their contract. But she also found that City's decision to implement the system was a permissive subject of bargaining, and therefore she dismissed the Teamsters' complaint.
Filed Under: Duty to Bargain
June 16, 2021
By Jim Cline and Mark Anderson
Recent COVID Guidance on vaccinations and vaccines issued by Labor and Industries and the Governor’s Office has been passed through local agencies and has resulted in quite a bit of confusion. This article is our attempt to clear up that confusion and provide direct guidance from Cline and Associates as to the current state of vaccine and mask requirements.
Filed Under: Duty to Bargain, Public Sector Collective Bargaining Rights
March 2, 2021
By Jim Cline
One of the emerging issues, at least in some departments is whether the employer can mandate that employees be vaccinated. If so, what are the legal rules and requirements around that issue?
Filed Under: Public Sector Collective Bargaining Rights
December 15, 2020
By Jim Cline
In our last newsletter, we addressed the subject of employer unilateral changes and how PERC viewed management’s ability to evade bargaining by claiming emergencies. In this article, we address the closely related subject of how emergencies impact your labor contract and how arbitrator’s view these defenses.
Filed Under: Public Sector Collective Bargaining Rights
December 14, 2020
By Jim Cline
COVID-19 is creating significant operational issues and the related economic downturn is creating financial issues. COVID-19 also drove further usage of digital payments during the pandemic. For small businesses today, having access to the cheapest card machine is crucial for growth and success. Consider seeking company insolvency register uk services if you need to liquidate your company assets to pay off the debts that you accumulated during the pandemic.
Filed Under: Duty to Bargain, Public Sector Collective Bargaining Rights
August 17, 2020
By Jim Cline and Shanleigh Kennedy
The Public Employment Relations Commission held that Whatcom County committed a refusal to bargain ULP by unilaterally deciding to deduct Paid Family Medical Leave Act premiums from wages without bargaining. PERC reasoned that since this deduction affected “wages” it was a mandatory subject of bargaining. Decision 13082-A: Whatcom County.
Filed Under: Duty to Bargain, Public Sector Collective Bargaining Rights
March 7, 2019
By Cynthia McNabb and Clive Pontusson
In Sheats v. City of East Wenatchee, the Washington Court of Appeals determined that a Police Officer could not prevent the disclosure of the pre-employment polygraph test he took when he applied for employment with the East Wenatchee Police Department. Even though a polygraph report is generally exempt from disclosure under the Washington Public Records Act (PRA), an Officer who is seeking to prevent disclosure of a public record must show that disclosure is not in the public interest, or that it will damage a critical government function. Because Officer Sheats could not prove this, the Court of Appeals decided he could not prevent the City of East Wenatchee from disclosing the results of his polygraph test.
