Washington Labor and Employment Blog
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This blog particularly focuses on Washington State and 9th Circuit court decisions and the rulings of the Washington Public Employees Relations Commission. It covers court rulings and legal developments related to collective bargaining rights, wage and hour law, employment discrimination and employee civil rights.
Washington Labor and Employment Blog
3M ago
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. In 2019, the Officer had […]
The post Arbitrator Reinstates King County Officer Following Double Jeopardy Violation appeared first on Washington Labor and Employment Blog ..read more
Washington Labor and Employment Blog
3M ago
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. Gilmore worked […]
The post PERC Examiner Finds Benton County Rightfully Assigned Injured Corrections Officer to Light Duty appeared first on Washington Labor and Employment Blog ..read more
Washington Labor and Employment Blog
3M ago
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 […]
The post No Progressive Discipline Granted to City of Port Angeles Officer Charged of Dishonesty appeared first on Washington Labor and Employment Blog ..read more
Washington Labor and Employment Blog
8M ago
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. In the ruling, the Examiner found […]
The post PERC Examiner Finds King County Corrections Guild Did Not Violate Duty of Fair Representation by Not Grieving Muslim Officer’s Vaccination Related Discharge appeared first on Washington Labor and Employment Blog ..read more
Washington Labor and Employment Blog
1y ago
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 […]
The post Arbitrator Reinstates Pierce County Deputy Terminated for Misconduct Related to Her Father’s Domestic Abuse Charges appeared first on Washington Labor and Employment Blog ..read more
Washington Labor and Employment Blog
1y ago
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 […]
The post PERC Dismisses Two Petitions to Sever Certain Police Support Employees from Units of City Employees appeared first on Washington Labor and Employment Blog ..read more
Washington Labor and Employment Blog
1y ago
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. Jonate Williams was a Public Safety Communicator (Dispatcher) for Fairfax […]
The post US District Court in Fairfax County, Virginia, Allows Dispatcher Disability Suit to Go Forward, finding that County May Have Unreasonably Delayed Accommodations appeared first on Washington Labor and Employment Blog ..read more
Washington Labor and Employment Blog
1y ago
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 […]
The post US District Court in Florida Rules Regular Attendance to be Necessary Qualifications for Department of Corrections Officers, Rejects Former Employee’s Disability Suit appeared first on Washington Labor and Emplo ..read more
Washington Labor and Employment Blog
1y ago
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 […]
The post Arbitrator Baroni Reduces Tallahassee, Florida Officer Discipline for Failure to De-escalate from Suspension to Written Reprimand appeared first on Washington Labor and Employment Blog ..read more
Washington Labor and Employment Blog
2y ago
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 […]
The post Where the Sun Don’t Shine: Spokane County Can’t Require Unions to Agree to Public Negotiations appeared first on Washington Labor and Employment Blog ..read more