LEGAL CASE STUDY
PBA Local 351 wins Shift Selection dispute
DAVID J . DEFILLIPO
Next to salary and health benefits , the ability to select one ’ s work hours and assignment is often the most important term and condition of employment . Thus , any time an employer encroaches upon a negotiated right to bid on shift , platoon and / or post assignments it must be met with staunch opposition and , if necessary , litigation .
This was the exact scenario the members of Camden County Corrections Officers Local 351 , the collective negotiations representatives for the Camden County corrections officers and sergeants , faced in the fall of 2015 . PBA members are assigned to one of four platoons within the jail , with “ Day Shift ” officers assigned to either the A-1 or A-2 platoons while the “ Night Shift ” officers are assigned to either P-1 or P-2 platoons .
Each October , the Local 351 members participate in a seniority-based selection process for the respective shifts , platoon and post assignments for the coming year . Article III of the Collective Negotiations Agreement ( CNA ) permits the warden to deviate from this seniority-based bidding process only in certain specifically-delineated circumstances .
The system worked fine until October 2015 when the warden unilaterally determined that officers and sergeants who are in the same immediate family would no longer be permitted to bid on the same platoon . This restriction impacted a number of officers whose spouses or siblings were also on the job and – previously – had been assigned to the same platoon .
The PBA responded by filing a grievance and ultimately submitted the dispute to arbitration . Arbitrator Thomas D . Hartigan conducted a hearing in March 2016 and on June 3 issued his opinion and award sustaining the Local 351 ’ s grievance .
In siding with the PBA , Mr . Hartigan rejected the county ’ s procedural and substantive arguments and , ultimately , agreed that the decision to ban immediate family members from working the same platoon violated the seniority clause in the CNA . The arbitrator also rejected the county ’ s assertion that the restriction was within the warden ’ s managerial prerogative to oversee the jail operations .
Therefore , Arbitrator Hartigan ordered that officers and sergeants once again be permitted to bid on any of the jail ’ s four platoons “ without restrictions on immediate family members .”
Local 351 ’ s victory reaffirms the negotiability – and enforceability – of seniority-based work hours and assignments . Hopefully , Hartigan ’ s ruling will discourage other public employers from attempting to infringe upon such negotiated contract rights of their employees . d
David J . DeFillippo , Esq ., of the Law Offices of Detzky , Hunter & DeFillippo , LLC concentrates his practice in public sector labor law , with a particular emphasis on representing New Jersey law enforcement officers , including municipal law enforcement officers , county sheriff ’ s officers , county prosecutor ’ s detectives , county corrections officers , public school teachers ( and support staff ), civilian municipal and county employees , as well as their labor unions .
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NEW JERSEY COPS ■ JULY 2016