Washington Labor and Employment Blog
The latest case law and legal developments in Washington labor & employment law.
By Chris Casillas and Sarah E. Derry
In Lincoln County, PERC Unfair Labor Practice Manager Jessica Bradley dismissed a complaint, brought by Teamsters Local 690 on behalf of two unions, which challenged the County’s new open meetings rule. The policy applies Washington’s Open Public Meetings Act to collective bargaining negotiations between the County and public sector unions.
By: Sarah E. Derry, Chris Casillas
In Vashon Island Fire and Rescue, PERC Examiner Karyl Elinski found that the employer’s decision to end its participation in a program that kept injured workers on salary (“Kept on Salary”) rather than using workers’ compensation was not an unfair labor practice. The employer had adopted the program for only seven weeks before deciding to terminate the program.
By: Chris Casillas and Sarah E. Derry
In Skagit Regional Health, PERC Examiner Emily K. Whitney held that the employer, which operates a cancer care clinic in Mount Vernon, Washington, improperly circumvented the union when it met with employees to discuss changing their work hours, rather than bargaining the change through the union.
By: Chris Casillas and Sarah E. Derry
In Green River College, PERC Examiner Jamie Siegel held that the employer, Green River College, a college in Auburn, Washington, did not commit an unfair labor practice when it implemented a new “Program Prioritization Process” (PPP) without bargaining. Examiner Siegel determined that the new program was not a mandatory subject of bargaining, so the employer was not obligated to negotiate its decision prior to implementation.
By: Chris Casillas and Sarah E. Derry
In State-Washington State Patrol, PERC Examiner Slone-Gomez dismissed the Washington State Patrol Troopers Association’s complaint, holding that the State did not cancel a union board member’s temporary disability leave in reprisal for his union activities.
By: Loyd Willaford and Mathias Deeg
In Mesmer v. Charter Communications Inc., the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington held that Charter Communications did not wrongfully fire or need to accommodate a call center employee suffering from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder where that employee’s poor performance was independent of his disability.
By Chris Casillas and Sarah E. Derry
In City of Renton, PERC Examiner Coss dismissed the Renton Police Officers’ Guild’s Unfair Labor Practice complaint, which challenged the pay scheme for bicycle officers. The Examiner held that, contrary to the Guild’s allegations: (1) the City did not engage in direct dealing with Officers when it created a new payment method; (2) the Guild had actually agreed to end the alternate payment method and so the City did not unilaterally change the bike pay; and (3) the Guild’s complaint was barred by the statute of limitations.
By: Erica Shelley Nelson and Sarah Burke
In a precedent setting case, in Kitsap County v. Kitsap Cty. Corr. Officers’ Guild Inc., the Court of Appeals held that the County committed an unfair labor practice when it laid off two corrections officers without negotiations with the Kitsap County Corrections Guild. Facing the Guild’s demand to bargain, the County refused to bargain over the decision, asserting that the layoffs were not a mandatory subject of bargaining The Court held that negotiations must precede the lay off decision.
By: Erica Shelley Nelson and Sarah Burke
In Celis v. City of Lakewood, a Hispanic officer alleged that he was constructively discharged after he resigned pending a disciplinary determination after his Loudermill hearing. The Court found that the officer’s fear of potential termination and decommission was not enough to amount to constructive discharge and granted the City’s motion for summary judgment.
By: Jordan L. Jones
In King County (Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 587), PERC held that ATU Local 587 committed a ULP when it submitted a permissive subject of bargaining to interest arbitration. Examiner De La Rosa found that King County’s decision to move the Millwrights from the Vehicle Maintenance Section to the Power & Facilities Section was a managerial prerogative and therefore a permissive subject of bargaining.
