A school employee who elected to submit an issue for resolution through a contractual grievance procedure may not appeal the same issue to the Commissioner of Education pursuant to Education Law §310
Decisions of the Commissioner of Education, Decision No. 17,235
In this appeal to the Commissioner of Education, the petitioner [Petitioner] contended that certain actions taken by school district administrators [District] and the president of employee organization [Association] of a recognized or certified employee organization for the purposes of collective bargaining under Article 14 of the Civil Service Law, the Taylor Law, were contrary to the terms of the relevant collective bargaining agreement [CBA] between the Association and the District.
The Association sought dismissal of the allegations filed against the Association on the ground that unions and their representatives are not subject to the jurisdiction of the Commissioner in an appeal filed pursuant to Education Law §310.
The Commissioner agreed, holding that the Petitioner's appeal against the Association must be dismissed for "lack of jurisdiction." The Commissioner explained that "It is well-settled that union organizations and their representatives are not subject to the jurisdiction of the Commissioner of Education under Education Law §310," and dismissed Petitioner's claims against the Association.
With respect to Petitioner's claims against the District, the Commissioner ruled that this branch of Petitioner's appeal must be dismissed for two reasons: lack of jurisdiction and election of remedies.
The Commissioner explained that "It is well-settled that a school employee who elected to submit an issue for resolution through a contractual grievance procedure may not bring an appeal to the Commissioner pursuant to Education Law §310 for review of the same matter."*
In the alternative, the Commissioner observed that Petitioner’s contract claims also would be dismissed under the doctrine of election of remedies as a prior commencement of an action or proceeding in another forum for the same or similar relief constitutes an election of remedies which precludes the initiation of an appeal to the Commissioner of Education.
* In Antinore v State, 40 NY2d 6, the court said that a union could bargain away the employee’s statutory disciplinary rights in favor of an alternative disciplinary procedure so long as the alternate procedure provided constitutional due process protections equivalent to those available under the statutory procedure that it replaced where the law permitted the negotiation of such an alternative disciplinary procedure.
* In Antinore v State, 40 NY2d 6, the court said that a union could bargain away the employee’s statutory disciplinary rights in favor of an alternative disciplinary procedure so long as the alternate procedure provided constitutional due process protections equivalent to those available under the statutory procedure that it replaced where the law permitted the negotiation of such an alternative disciplinary procedure.
The decision is posted on the Internet at: