Labor Arbitration in the News

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that Arbitrator Jeffrey Jacobs has ordered the University of Northern Iowa to stop using student assessments as a basis for deciding whether to grant faculty merit pay. Arbitrator blocks U. of Northern Iowa From Basing Faculty Merit Pay on Student Evaluations. The article contains a link to the award. The arbitrator rejected the University’s position that there was a binding past practice justifying their position.

The Boston Herald reports that the parties have asked arbitrator Shyman Das to hold off issuing a written decision explaining his ruling overturning the suspension of Ryan Braun while they negotiate changes in specimen collection. Might be no written decision in Ryan Braun

The City of Philadelphia has filed suit seeking to set aside an arbitrator’s award granting pension service credit to a police officer who was terminated but subsequently reinstated to his position with full seniority but without back pay. According to The Pennsylvania Record, the City argues that only the pension board, and not an arbitrator, can make such a decision regarding pension credit. City seeks to set aside arbitration award involving police union

Arbitrator Shyman Das has ordered the US Postal Service to cease requiring employees to use only DOL form WH-380 in seeking FMLA coverage. APWU Wins Important FMLA Arbitration. In his award Arbitrator Das finds that the parties cba, as interpreted by the Joint Contract Interpretation Manual, allows employees to provide information in any form that contains the same information required by WH-380.