WORKPLACE LEADER
ARBITRATION REPORT
Don’t Let Employer Cheat on Leave; CHECK YOUR CONTRACT
M
anagement hates it when a worker takes off, and many will seek to find any reason to deny the worker leave. Often, the union must step in to assure the worker’s right to that leave is protected.
Workers should remember that leave is an earned right, won in hard bargaining, often with the union having to draw back on another issue. Thus, if a worker is denied leave, the union must check into it; in most cases, you need only to look to the union contract for the answer. Take the case of a male employee of an Ohio school district whose request for paid parental leave was limited to a two-week period for the birth or adoption of a child. The employer claimed the six-week period for parental leave only covers female employees. An arbitrator ruled, however, the male worker had a right to six weeks since the labor contract calling for the six-week leave period was gender-neutral and didn’t specify women only.1 The granting of leave for union purposes is often contested, but it, too, is a protected right. In one case, a food industry union official was refused leave because he failed to state a specific time for his leave but left it “indefinite.” An arbitrator ruled that there was nothing in the contract that required a worker to list
❝ Workers don’t need to lose benefits ... while they’re on leave.❞
a specific time for his requested union leave. He granted the worker his leave.2 When a Pennsylvania police department refused leave requests if it would result in overtime, an arbitrator said no-no. The ruling was based on 20 years of past practice in which leaves were granted even though overtime pay occurred. The practice, the arbitrator said, was well-established and was just as strong as if it had been written in the contract.3
Often, too, an employer may use a technicality to refuse a leave request. A Michigan company refused to pay the three days of funeral leave because there had been no church representation at the memorial service held for the father of a worker. The arbitrator said the contract called for paying three days’ funeral leave upon the presentation of a death notice for the purpose of “attending the funeral or other services,” with no other proof needed.4 Workers don’t need to lose benefits, such as health insurance, while they’re on leave, even an extended leave. It all depends upon the wording of the contract or if there had been an established past practice. In the case of one worker whose job was eliminated while he was on leave, an arbitrator ruled the company must continue to pay his health insurance premiums for the full 12-month period of his leave. The arbitrator said the contract clearly stated that workers on medical leave receive 12 months of paid health insurance, regardless of the circumstances.5 Thus, the lesson: Don’t let any leave denial go unquestioned. Check the contract. z – Ken Germanson. The author is a veteran labor journalist.
1 Mt. Healthy (OH) Teachers Assn. And Mt. Healthy City School District. Jonathan I. Klein, arbitrator. March 3, 2011. 2 UFCW Local 617 and Pinnacle Foods Group LLC. Mark Suardi, arbitrator. March 24, 2015. 3 Millcreek Township Police Assn. And Millcreek Township. Jane Minnich, arbitrator. Feb. 8, 2011. 4 Teamsters Local 7 and Michigan Milk Producers Assn. Patrick A. McDonald, arbitrator. May 14, 2014. 5 Teamster Local 695 and Citrus Systems Madison. Stanley E. Kravit, arbitrator. June 17, 2013. Workplace Leader is published six times a year by UnionBase. Contents ©2021 UnionBase. Reproduction in whole or in part electronically, by photocopy, or any other means without the written consent of UnionBase is prohibited. | Cover art produced by Billy Buntin of BBDigital Media. Layout & Design by Chadick+Kimball.
UnionBase.org |
@UnionBase |
@UnionBase
6