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Employee reinstated, and then fired again
December 12, 2006 by Ross Runkel at LawMemo
An arbitrator ordered a company to reinstate a discharged employee with back pay. The company paid the back pay, and simultaneously discharged the employee a second time for conduct independent of the first discharge.
Local 1776 v. Excel (3rd Cir 12/01/2006) held that the company did not violate the arbitrator's award by doing this.
The arbitration had to do with the first discharge on a claim of theft. The second discharge had to do with a claim that the employee assaulted a security guard.
The issue for the 3rd Circuit was whether the employer satisfied the arbitrator's award when it paid the employee back wages and simultaneously discharged the employee a second time for conduct independent of the first discharge.
The court said yes, considering the circumstances of this case: (1) the employer notified the employee that his attack on the security guard was grounds for discharge, (2) the arbitrator only considered the alleged theft by the employee, not the attack on the security guard, (3) the employer effectively reinstated the employee as required by the arbitral award by paying him for the period between the time he was suspended pending investigation of the attempted theft through the effective date of his discharge, (4) the employer had an independent reason (the attack on the security guard) to discharge the employee, and (5) the union had already filed a second grievance pursuant to which a second arbitrator will have the opportunity to rule on the issues of notice, waiver, and the existence of good cause for the second discharge.
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