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Arbitrating a layoff unit determination by the appointing authority may be prohibited by statute or as a matter of public policy

Arbitrating a layoff unit determination by the appointing authority may be prohibited by statute or as a matter of public policy
Matter of Civil Serv. Employees Assn., Inc. v County of Erie, 2009 NY Slip Op 04477, Decided on June 5, 2009, Appellate Division, Fourth Department

In the course of a layoff, CSEA complained that Erie County improperly prohibited County employees laid off from various departments from being recalled or "bumped" into equivalent open positions at the Erie County Medical Center (ECMCC), a public benefit corporation.

Erie County disagreed, contending that while County and ECMCC employees "are contained within the same bargaining unit," there are separate layoff units for them for purposes of recall and "bumping."

CSEA grieved the County?s determination and ultimately initiated an Article 75 proceeding seeking a court order to compel Erie County to ?proceed to arbitration? to resolve its grievance. Although the County contended that CSEA?s grievance was not subject to arbitration, Supreme Court granted CSEA?s petition.

The County appealed and the Appellate Divisions unanimously reversed the lower court?s ruling.

The Appellate Division said that when determining if a grievance is arbitrable, the court must determine whether "there is any statutory, constitutional or public policy prohibition against arbitration of the grievance,'" citing (Matter of County of Chautauqua v Civil Serv. Empls. Assn., Local 1000, AFSCME, AFL-CIO, County of Chautauqua Unit 6300, Chautauqua County Local 807, 8 NY3d 513.

In this instance the court concluded that there is a statutory prohibition against arbitration of the grievance.

Noting that Rule 24 of the Erie County Rules for the Classified Civil Service, enacted pursuant to Civil Service Law §20 (1), defined the term layoff unit and indicated that "Layoff Unit shall mean each department of the County. Each town, each village, each school district, each special district and each authority are separate layoff units. Authorities shall be deemed to be separate civil divisions."

Finding that under the Public Authorities Law §2(1) and (2)(a), a "public benefit corporation" such as ECMCC is included under the definitions for both a "state authority" and a "local authority," the Appellate Division ruled that ECMCC is an "authority" within the meaning of both the Public Authorities Law and the County Rules, thus constituting a separate layoff unit within the County.

Holding that "[A]n arbitral award that would permit interdepartmental bumping into a different layoff unit would run afoul of . . . Civil Service Law [§80(6)]" [emphases by the court], the Appellate Division ruled that there is a "statutory . . . prohibition against arbitration of the grievance" filed by CSEA.

The decision is posted on the Internet at:
http://www.courts.state.ny.us/reporter/3dseries/2009/2009_04477.htm

Full post as published by New York Public Personnel Law on June 10, 2009 (boomark / email).