Arbitrator’s award must be confirmed if not completely irrational

Arbitrator’s award must be confirmed if not completely irrational
Matter of Rochester City School Dist. v Rochester Teachers Assn., 38 AD3d 1152

Supreme Court, Monroe County, Judge William P. Polito, confirmed an arbitration award in favor of the Rochester Teachers Association, rejecting the School District’s motion to vacate the award. The arbitrator had ruled that teachers who had attained their Masters Degree while in service would be advanced two steps on the salary scale.

The District contended that the arbitrator had exceed her authority when she concluded that under the terms of collective bargaining agreement, teachers would advance two steps on the salary scale upon obtaining their Masters Degrees.

According to the Appellate Division, the parties had stipulated the follow question in submitting the matter to arbitration:

Did the School District breach the collective bargaining agreement between it and the Association when if failed to advance incumbent teachers two steps on the salary scale after they obtained their Masters?

The Appellate Division rejected the District’s claim that the arbitrator had exceeded her authority, ruling, “the arbitrator merely resolved the stipulated issue before her.”

Accordingly, the issue before the Appellate Division was not whether the court agreed with the arbitrator’s determination. The court, citing Wien & Malkin LLP v Helmsley-Spear, Inc., 6 NYPD 471, said, "[a]n arbitration award must be upheld when the arbitrator offer[s] even a barely colorable justification for the outcome reached.” Rather, said the court, the issue to be resolved was whether the decision was rationale.

In addition, the court noted that in Matter of Lackawanna City School Dist. v Lackawanna Teachers Federation, 237 AD2d 945, it was held that where an arbitrator’s interpretation of the agreement is not completely irrational, the award is beyond the court’s power to review.

The Appellate Division dismissed the School District’s petition.

However, Presiding Justice Henry Scudder dissented, stating that in his view “the arbitrator exceeded her authority in disregarding the provision of the CBA requiring that any amendment to it be duly executed by both parties, and in modifying the CBA by providing that teachers obtaining a Masters Degree during the course of their employment would receive a two-step increase on the salary scale” because although the CBA “provided that teachers who obtained a Masters Degree during the course of their employment would be entitled to tuition reimbursement … the CBA, however, did not provide a two-step increase on the salary scale for teachers who obtained a Masters Degree during the course of their employment.”

Police officer’s September 11 line of duty injury claim rejected

Police officer’s September 11 line of duty injury claim rejected
Matter of Teran v Kelly, 2007 NY Slip Op 30009(U), March 1, 2007, Supreme Court, New York County, Docket Number: 0109358, Judge: Marcy S. Friedman [Not selected for inclusion in the Official Reports]

Teran, a New York City police officer, was performing routine police duties while the City was undergoing a citywide emergency as a result of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. She applied for accidental disability retirement benefits claiming that she had suffered a “line-of-duty accident.”

Although Teran’s psychotherapist, Robert Driscoll, submitted a letter in which he stated that Teran was suffering symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder brought on by her duties in connection with the events of September 11, 2001, the Police Department’s expert said that “there was no [sic] evidence to support the claim of [Teran’s] psychotherapist that [Teran’s] injuries were the result of her work in connection with the events of September 11, 2001.”*

Supreme Court Justice Marcy S. Friedman concluded that Teran’s claim of entitlement to accident disability retirement was supported neither by the facts nor by any legal authority.

Further, said the court, contrary to Teran’s claim, Administrative Code 3 13-252.1, which sets out a presumption of accidental disability for police officers injured during their participation in World Trade Center rescue, recovery or clean-up efforts, does not apply to Teran, as she was not involved in any of the World Trade Center rescue, recovery or clean-up efforts at the time.

* The decision states that Teran “was sent home just after the attacks because she was pregnant. [Teran] did not witness the attacks on the World Trade Center or the collapse of the buildings, and she did not participate in any rescue or recovery work at the World Trade Center site after September 11.”

Compulsory arbitration demand

Compulsory arbitration demand
Matter of City of Poughkeepsie, 33 PERB 3029

In the course of collective bargaining the Poughkeepsie Professional Firefighters Association demanded de novo binding arbitration pursuant to PERB’s Voluntary Dispute Resolution Procedure [VDR] to resolve disagreements involving the granting and terminating benefits provided by the City of Poughkeepsie pursuant to Section 207-a of the General Municipal Law.

PERB said that demanding that the matter be submitted to VDR for such a de novo review was fatal to its being found to be a mandatory subject of collective bargaining.

PERB pointed to its ruling in the Watertown case [30 PERB 3072] in which it said that a collective bargaining demand seeking arbitration as an alternative to bring an Article 78 action to determining Section 207-a disputes was a mandatory subject of collective negotiations.

A court's review of a disciplinary arbitration award is limited and does not encompass consideration of the merits of the award or the penalty imposed

A court's review of a disciplinary arbitration award is limited and does not encompass consideration of the merits of the award or the penalty imposed
Matter of State of New York v Civil Serv. Employees Assn., Inc., 2010 NY Slip Op 09330, Appellate Division, Third Department

David H. Jackson, a Youth Division Aide at Tryon Residential Center for Boys, was served with a notice of discipline as a result of an incident in which it was alleged that he punched a juvenile resident and pushed a coworker into a wall.

The charges filed against Jackson were presented to an arbitrator in accordance with the disciplinary arbitration procedure set out in the controlling collective bargaining agreement [CBA]. The arbitrator found Jackson guilty of the charged misconduct but, after reviewing Jackson's entire employment record, found the proposed penalty – dismissal - to be inappropriate.

Pursuant to his authority under the CBA to set an appropriate remedy, the arbitrator imposed a penalty of suspension without pay for eight months, six hours of anger management therapy and a three-month disciplinary probationary period upon Jackson's return to work.

The Division for Youth filed a petition pursuant to Article 75 of the CPLR seeking to vacate the arbitrator’s award with respect to the penalty imposed. Essentially, Youth argued that continuing Jackson’s employment as a Youth Division Aide violated the public policy of protecting the safety and welfare of the children placed in its facilities and the arbitrator should have imposed the penalty of dismissal.

Supreme Court, rather than grant Youth’s petition, granted the Civil Service Employees Association’s motion to confirm the award and Youth appealed.

Noting that a court's role in reviewing arbitration awards is limited and involves neither consideration of the merits of an arbitration award nor the substitution of the court’s judgment for that of the arbitrator simply because it believes its interpretation would be the better one, the Appellate Division sustained the lower court’s disposition of the matter.

As to Youth’s argument that the “public policy exception” should control in this instance as the protection of children in residential facilities and programs operated or certified by the Division is involved, the court said the exception would apply only in "'cases in which public policy considerations, embodied in statute or decisional law, prohibit, in an absolute sense, particular matters being decided or certain relief being granted by an arbitrator.” The court explained that although there is undoubtedly a strong public policy to protect children and prevent the abuse of them, particularly by those entrusted with their care, for a court to vacate an arbitration award on public policy grounds, "more than a general societal concern must be at issue."

Further, the Appellate Division said that "Judicial restraint under the public policy exception is particularly appropriate where, as here, the case involves arbitration pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement.”

In this instance the CBA specifically granted the arbitrator "full authority, if the remedy proposed by [the Division] is found to be inappropriate, to devise an appropriate remedy and, in doing so, the arbitrator may consider the employee's entire employment record.”

In fashioning what he deemed an appropriate penalty, the arbitrator acknowledged it was the duty of employees in Jackson's position to keep the children in Youth’s care safe from harm and to refrain from inflicting any harm upon them. However, the court said that the arbitrator had credited Jackson's testimony that he had "accepted responsibility for his actions, understood them to be wrong and had volunteered to attend anger management therapy and to be placed on probation upon his return to work."

The Appellate Division, acknowledging Youth’s reluctance to continue Jackson’s employment was understandable, ruled that “the public policy cited simply does not prohibit [Jackson] from remaining employed in his position and it is not within this Court's power to ‘second-guess’ the factual or legal determinations of the arbitrator.”

The decision is posted on the Internet at:
http://www.courts.state.ny.us/reporter/3dseries/2010/2010_09330.htm
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