Washington Labor and Employment Blog
The latest case law and legal developments in Washington labor & employment law.
By Therese Norton
It is an unfair labor practice for an employer to say that employees could avoid a salary reduction if they were not represented by a union. PERC Examiner Claire Nickleberry recently found that Skagit Valley College interfered with employee collective bargaining rights by making such comments because they had a chilling effect on employees. Skagit Valley College, Decision 11536-A (PSRA, 2013).
By Anthony Rice
In City of Mukilteo, Arbitrator Steve Irvin ruled that the city did not violate its collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the firefighters’ union when it assigned mandatory overtime to cover a public education event. The arbitrator found that, under the CBA, the city has the contractual right to assign overtime to meet its operational needs. Moreover, the city has a broad spectrum of possibilities for overtime use—such as public education.
By Anthony Rice
In Barnett v. Sequim Valley Ranch, the court upheld a $427,230 jury award for the plaintiffs and former employees of Sequim Valley Ranch. The court held that the plaintiffs’ constructive, wrongful discharge suit was timely filed, and the trial court properly instructed the jury on the elements of a wrongful constructive discharge claim.
By Therese Norton
In general, PERC will dismiss an unfair labor practice charge if it is not filed within six month. On May 13, 2013, PERC Examiner Casey King dismissed a ULP charge brought by the Walla Walla Commissioned Deputy Sheriff’s Association against Walla Walla County. The union asserted that Walla Walla County had unilaterally changed its policy regarding forfeiture of unused vacation time. Examiner King dismissed the charge as untimely, and even if it was filed timely, the union failed to establish that the county had changed the policy. Walla Walla County, Decision 11751 (PECB, 2013)
By Therese Norton
Protected union activity is not an absolute right when it becomes unreasonable. In a recent decision, PERC Examiner Casey King determined that the State of Washington Corrections did not discriminate against, or interfere with the rights of Local 117 union steward Darren Kelly when it reassigned Mr. Kelly out of his bid position. Examiner King reached this decision finding that Mr. Kelly had not engaged in protected activities. State –Corrections, Decision 11747 (PSRA, 2013) [Read more…]
By Therese Norton
In a recent PERC decision, Examiner Slone-Gomez dismissed a union discrimination claim because the union was unable to prove that the employer discriminated against a bargaining unit member by terminating him in reprisal for union activities. City of Centralia, Decision 11687 (PECB, 2013).
By Therese Norton
PERC Hearing Examiner Robin A. Romeo partially upheld an unfair labor practice complaint filed by the Public School Employees of Washington on behalf of a group of custodial employees employed by Washington State University. The complaint alleged that the employer refused to bargain when it laid-off a bargaining unit member, which substantially increased the workload of the remaining workers in violation of the Personnel System Reform Act, Chapter 41.80 RCW. Examiner Romeo found that although the decision to layoff the employee was not a mandatory subject of bargaining, the employer must still bargain with the union over the increased workload because the decision impacts working conditions. Washington State University, Decision 11704 (PSRA, 2013).
By Christopher Casillas
The three-member Commission, hearing an appeal in a complex case involving numerous allegations of discrimination and interference involving the SNOCOM 911 Regional Dispatch Center, recently affirmed a decision issued by the Hearing Examiner sustaining numerous unfair labor practice charges. The case originally involved nearly a dozen and one-half independent allegations of unfair labor practices alleged by the SNOCOM Dispatchers’ Association, many involving a strong anti-union bias by SNOCOM’s Director, Debbie Grady, against the then-President and Vice President of the Association. In an abbreviated decision, the Commission upheld all of the Examiner’s findings and conclusions outlining the scope of SNOCOM’s unlawful behavior.
By Therese Norton
I
n Yakima Valley Community College,11326-A (PECB, 2013), the Commission found that the employer breached its good faith bargaining obligation when it unilaterally implemented its proposal, after it approached bargaining with a fixed outcome in mind to reduce wages. Contrary to the employer’s assertions that it was bargaining under budgetary terms imposed by the Legislature, the Commission found that the parties were not at a good faith impasse in bargaining and that unilateral implementation was not warranted because there was time to bargain the impact of the reduction of the employer’s budget on the bargaining unit. Therefore, it concluded, the employer acted improperly when it unilaterally implemented a temporary change to employee wages and work hours.
By Jim Cline
The recent ruling of the Oregon Supreme Court in Association of Oregon Corrections Employees v. Oregon discussed on our blog, coincides with the Washington approach to contractual waivers. PERC has consistently ruled that waivers must be subject specific and that broad management rights language does not constitute a waiver of collective bargaining rights.
