Arbitration Victories

SEIU Psychologist's APA Job Saved

An arbitrator ordered the Adult Parole Authority to return to work a psychologist with 23 years of seniority and to make him whole for all monies, benefits and seniority lost during his unjust termination. This restoration includes about 8 months of backpay, bridging his seniority, and a reimbursement for the cost of COBRA medical insurance during the layoff.

The State failed to meet even the minumum standard of proponderence of evidence against the SEIU District 1199 member, according to the ruling.

1199 Scores First Disparate Treatment Win Against State

SEIU 1199 recently won its first arbitration over an employee’s disparate treatment by the State of Ohio.

On Feb. 8, the State was ordered to scrub disciplinary orders and plans from the personnel record of Adult Parole Authority member William Reed — as well as to reinstate him in a mentorship program. The State was also told to accommodate Reed’s transfer from a field position back into a pre-sentence investigation unit under a different supervisor.

Reed was found to be a victim of “moving target supervision” for consistently meeting agreed-upon requirements, only to see those standards raised after-the-fact. His supervisor was faulted for selectively withholding both work-at-home and flex-time privileges, despite Reed’s having met all of the criteria on his service evaluation.

Disability Not Shown To Be Incompatible

In mid-January, the State was ordered to reinstate DRC member Joel Dwyer with back pay after having terminated his employment as a pre-sentence investigation writer. The arbitrator found that Dwyer’s disability wasn’t shown to be a sufficient barrier to his modified duties, which he’d consistently been rated as above-average in discharging.