By Jim Cline In City of Seattle, Examiner Christopher Casillas dismissed a complaint after finding the Complainant failed to satisfy each element necessary for a discrimination prima facie case. The Complainant had been placed on administrative reassignment while the City investigated an incident involving Complainant; however, he did not lose any pay, leave, or benefits […] The post PERC Examiner Dismisses Discrimination Complaint Against City of Seattle, Finding Administration Assignment did not Trigger Deprivation of Rights appeared first on Washington Labor and Employment Blog ..read more

By Jim Cline In Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families, Examiner Casillas dismissed the case, holding that Complainant failed to prove her employer had discriminated against her for engaging in a protected activity. Examiner Casillas found that management had engaged in multiple non-disciplinary attempts to correct Complainant’s behavior over several years and that […] The post PERC Examiner Holds that Corrective Attempts to Temperamental, Underperforming DSHS Employee is Not Discriminatory appeared first on Washington Labor and Employment Blog ..read more

By Jim Cline In Spokane School District, Examiner Hickey held that the Spokane Education Association had violated its duty of fair representation by withholding requested information from an investigatory meeting. Complainant had relied on the Union representative’s promise to share notes, but the representative later refused without citing any legitimate interest for the withholding. Complainant […] The post Examiner Finds that Spokane Teacher’s Union Breached Duty of Fair Representation in by Refusing to Share Notes  appeared first on Washington Labor and Employment Blog ..read more

Jim Cline In Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families, Examiner Greer dismissed the complaint, holding that the Employer did not discriminate against the Complainant, who alleged she was terminated after communicating her intent to join a grievance. However, Examiner Greer found the Employer’s reasons for termination “were not pretextual for discrimination, nor substantially […] The post Examiner Dismisses Complaint of Discrimination in Washington State Department of Child, Youth, and Families for Employee who Violated Records Access Rules appeared first on Washington Labor ..read more

By Jim Cline and Abagail Klonsinski In King County, Arbitrator Khoury sustained the grievance of a law enforcement officer in part, holding there had been failures on both sides, but that termination was not supported when one of the factors used to escalate discipline violated the principle of double jeopardy. In 2019, the Officer had […] The post Arbitrator Reinstates King County Officer Following Double Jeopardy Violation appeared first on Washington Labor and Employment Blog ..read more

By Jim Cline and Abagail Klonsinski In Benton County, PERC Examiner Leonard dismissed the complaint alleging that the employer discriminated when it denied the complainant light duty.  Leonard concluded that there was insubstantial evidence to support complainant’s argument that his union activity was a substantial motivating factor in placing him on light duty. Gilmore worked […] The post PERC Examiner Finds Benton County Rightfully Assigned Injured Corrections Officer to Light Duty appeared first on Washington Labor and Employment Blog ..read more

By Jim Cline and Abagail Klonsinski In City of Port Angeles, Arbitrator Susan Bauman found there was just cause to terminate a patrol officer who failed to meet the Department’s standards of ethical conduct. The Officer had failed to timely file a report regarding a potential sexual assault and was untruthful throughout an Internal Affairs […] The post No Progressive Discipline Granted to City of Port Angeles Officer Charged of Dishonesty appeared first on Washington Labor and Employment Blog ..read more

By Jim Cline and Abagail Klonsinski In King County Corrections Guild, Examiner Slone-Gomez dismissed a case after finding a King County Corrections Officer failed to show that his union had breached its duty of fair representation (DFR) by refusing to file a grievance regarding his involuntary separation from the County. In the ruling, the Examiner found […] The post PERC Examiner Finds King County Corrections Guild Did Not Violate Duty of Fair Representation by Not Grieving Muslim Officer’s Vaccination Related Discharge appeared first on Washington Labor and Employment Blog ..read more

By Jim Cline and Kim Lowe In Pierce County, Arbitrator Clauss reinstated a deputy police officer, finding that the County failed to prove that she was intentionally dishonest or that she withheld any information material to a separate investigation. The Arbitrator applied the usual principles of just cause and progressive discipline and found that the […] The post Arbitrator Reinstates Pierce County Deputy Terminated for Misconduct Related to Her Father’s Domestic Abuse Charges appeared first on Washington Labor and Employment Blog ..read more

By Jim Cline and Kim Lowe In City of Bellingham and City of Issaquah, PERC Executive Director Sellars ruled that both units would stay intact, dismissing severance petitions that would have broken certain police support employees from the larger units. Director Sellars found that the disputed employees and their existing unit still share a community […] The post PERC Dismisses Two Petitions to Sever Certain Police Support Employees from Units of City Employees appeared first on Washington Labor and Employment Blog ..read more