Supreme Court, New York County, denied a petition filed by the City of New York [City] seeking to annul the determination of the Board of Collective Bargaining of the City of New York [Board] granting the improper practice petition filed by the Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association, AFL-CIO (MEBA). The City appealed the Supreme Court's ruling.
The Appellate Division unanimously affirmed the Supreme Court's ruling, explaining that Supreme Court had properly [1] denied the City's petition and [2] granted the Board's cross-motions to dismiss the proceeding, as the Supreme Court's decision was rational and was supported by the evidence in the record.
Pointing out that the Board had a rational basis to conclude that anti-union animus motivated the employee's suspension and demotion, the Appellate Division's decision also noted that the testimony in the record from multiple witnesses indicated that the discipline imposed was disproportionate to the offenses and similarly situated employees who engaged in the same conduct received no discipline.
The Appellate Division's decision also reported that "the witness testimony and documentary evidence established a temporal relationship between the union activity the employee engaged in and the disciplinary action taken" by the City.
The Appellate Division opined that it was also proper "for the Board to reinstate the employee based on the Board's finding that anti-union animus was the substantially motivating cause of his dismissal, and not merely one of the reasons therefor".
Click HERE to access the decision of the Appellate Division posted on the Internet.