A three-judge panel of the Third Circuit issued three opinions while trying to determine the route to follow when reconciling principles of federalism with the question of whether the Federal Arbitration Agreement (“FAA”) applied. Judges Matey (writing the opinion of the court), Matey (concurring), and Shwartz (dissenting) each issued engaging and thoughtful opinions on an … Read more
The Third Circuit ruled that the functus officio doctrine is alive and well. That doctrine prohibits arbitrators from revisiting their decisions without the parties’ consent. Union Verizon employees brought a grievance against their employer because Verizon altered their options for customers who wanted a new set-top box. Previously, the only option was for union employees … Read more
This labor dispute arose when a bargaining unit member retired. After advertising internally failed to fill the position, ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company (“EMRE”) contracted independent contractors to staff the position. Shortly after that, Indep. Lab. Emp. Union, Inc. filed a grievance regarding the propriety of EMRE contracting out bargaining unit positions in this way. … Read more
The plaintiff and the union representing its employees disagreed on whether a particular class of employees was supervisors under Section 2(11) of the National Labor Relations Act. The National Labor Relations Board found that the employees were not supervisors and that the plaintiff violated the Act by refusing to bargain with those employees. The Third … Read more
In Rozenblit v. Lyles, the New Jersey Supreme Court reviewed an award of summary judgment in favor of a teachers’ union and against two citizen-taxpayers. The taxpayers sought declaratory relief because the collective negotiations agreement between a school district and its the union created two full-time union positions paid for with taxpayer funds. The Court … Read more
In Bethany v. SEIU PA State Council, the 3rd Circuit dealt with the United States Supreme Court’s fair-share ruling in Janus v. AFSCME Council 31, 138 S. Ct. 2448 (2018). In Janus, the Supreme Court ruled that unions may not deduct fees from non-union members, the so-called “fair share fee”. Bethany LaSpina was just such … Read more
In Crozer-Chester Medical Ctr. v. Nat’l Labor Relations Bd., the 3rd Circuit reviewed a decision of the National Labor Relations Board and held that substantial evidence supported the Board’s conclusion that the employer violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). However, the Board abused its broad remedial discretion in ordering the employer to disclose its entire agreement of … Read more
In In re Ridgefield Park Bd. of Educ., the NJ Supreme Court ruled N.J.S.A. 18A:16-17.2 mandates that, when employees of local school boards reach Tier 4 contribution levels in their first year of a collective negotiating agreement, they must continue to contribute at that level until they negotiate a successor negotiating agreement.
In Teamsters Local 177 v. UPS, the 3rd Circuit held that, under the FAA, a party’s injuries are only fully remedied by the entry of a confirmation order. The dispute the parties went to arbitration to resolve is “live” until the arbitration award is confirmed and the parties have an enforceable judgment in hand. Thus, … Read more
A civil servant who worked for PennDOT posted to her Facebook account a rant about the poor performance of school bus drivers and her seemingly cavalier attitude toward running over small children. As a result, she was fired. She sued to get her job back. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court noted that the government has a … Read more