In the City of Wadsworth, FHKAD Attorney Benjamin Albrecht successfully argued that the union’s appeal of a written and oral reprimand was non-arbitrable. As a result, the arbitrator denied the grievance.
The Grievant was issued a two-day paid suspension, which he grieved. As part of the grievance process, the two parties met, after which the city agreed to remove the two-day suspension from the Grievant’s file. However, the grievance remedy requested that the Grievant’s entire disciplinary record be removed, which included a written and an oral reprimand relating to previous incidents. The city’s answer did not offer to remove the reprimands. The union then appealed to arbitration.
The city argued that, per the parties’ collective bargaining agreement, the grievance remedy (past reprimands) appealed to arbitration was not arbitrable. The arbitrator agreed, finding that the union’s attempt to appeal past reprimands to arbitration by attaching them to a removed suspension was unsupported by the collective bargaining agreement and the reprimands were not arbitrable.
This case serves as a reminder to always consider the arbitrability of a union’s grievance and any requested remedies. If you have any questions about this case or other labor matters, please contact attorney Benjamin Albrecht at balbrecht@fishelhass.com or (614) 221-1216.