BACKGROUND Lisa Vincent had been employed as a police officer by the Town of Stevenson for four years. The police officers at the Stevenson Police Department were represented by the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 7. Article 3 of the collective bargaining agreement specified that there should be eight police cars on each shift. If for whatever reason there were not enough officers to staff a certain shift, officers would be called on a voluntary basis; this was known as a “callback.” If the callback method failed to obtain sufficient personnel for the shift in question, police officers were ordered back to work; this was called an “orderback.” In orderback situations the department was first required to order officers scheduled to work the next shift in early. On May 29, the police department was understaffed for the second shift. The voluntary callback procedure did not yield sufficient personnel, so the department started an orderback. Officer Vincent was scheduled to work the third shift at 3:00 P.M. However, under the orderback Officer Vincent was ordered to report to work at 11:00 A.M. instead of 3:00 P.M. Officer Vincent had previously arranged for a babysitter to care for her three children during her regularly scheduled shift beginning at 3:00 P.M., but she was unable to find anyone on such short notice to care for them between 11:00 A.M. and 3:00 P.M. She was thus unable to report for the orderback, but instead reported to work for her scheduled shift at 3:00 P.M. Because Officer Vincent did not report when ordered in, the town suspended her without pay for five days. The union subsequently filed a grievance stating that Officer Vincent’s failure to report for the orderback was not insubordination, but rather was analogous to the situation in which an officer is unable to report due to sickness. POTENTIALLY RELEVANT CONTRACT PROVISIONS ARTICLE 3: HOURS OF WORK Section 2. The shift hours of the patrol division, dispatchers, and corporals shall be as follows, except in a justifiable emergency: Shift #1. 11:00 P.M. to 7:00 A.M. Shift #2. 7:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. Shift #3. 3:00 P.M. to 11:00 P.M. On shift #1, there shall be eight (8) cars; on shift #2, there shall be eight (8) cars; and on shift #3, there shall be eight (8) cars. The number of cars assigned to each subshift shall be determined by the chief. ARTICLE 8: SICK LEAVE AND HOSPITALIZATION BENEFIT Section A. Sick Leave Policy and Procedures Sick leave shall be provided for police officers as insurance against loss of income when a police officer is unable to perform assigned duties because of illness or injury. Police officers shall be entitled to 96 hours of sick leave each calendar year. Police officers absent from work on account of illness or injury shall report intended absence to their division head or supervisor as soon as practical, but no later than fifteen (15) minutes after commencement of the police officer’s duty shift unless justified by emergency circumstances. Sick leave in excess of 16 hours for any one illness shall be documented by a written certification from a licensed practicing and attending physician, that during the period of leave, the police officer was prevented by illness from discharging the duties required by his or her office or position of employment. Such certification shall also be required of any police officer claiming sick leave benefits for an absence not reported in compliance with subsection (3) hereof or at such other times at which verification is requested by a supervisor or department head.
QUESTIONS
As an attorney for the Town of Stevenson, develop a case to support the department’s just cause in suspending Officer Vincent.
As an attorney for AFSCME Local 7, develop an argument to support your client’s contention that just cause does not exist for suspending Lisa Vincent.
As an arbitrator, how would you rule? Why?