Arbitration victory report
11/9/2009
In a recent arbitration victory, NAGE attorney Rebecca Mitchell won the reversal of an unjust suspension. The arbitrator's decision restored all lost pay and benefits, and completely purged all suspension references from the member’s personnel record.
The grievant in this case was a staff psychologist, responsible for complex examinations and mental assessments of U.S. veterans. Previously, the grievant had been recognized by hospital management for a long history of exemplary performance. Coworkers recognized the grievant’s leadership by electing her union president in December of 2008.
Under the collective bargaining agreement, the grievant had entered a new role after she became union president. Forty percent of her time was now reserved for union business, and only sixty percent of her time was dedicated to clinical assessments. Unfortunately, management responded by cutting the time allowed for each patient assessment in half. Where the grievant previously had ten days from the time of a patient examination to produce a report, she now had five. While the grievant endured such a dramatically reduced deadline, the remaining staff psychologists enjoyed a ten day completion time. Among the mental health providers at VA Medical Centers, it is widely recognized that assessments involve complex, sophisticated work. At arbitration, the Union demonstrated that the late production of reports amongst staff psychologists were common if not endemic. While other staff psychologists also missed what the arbitrator described as “artificial deadlines”, they did not receive disciplinary action. When the grievant fell behind on her workload, she received warnings that ultimately culminated in a two week suspension.
At each stage in the disciplinary procedure, the grievant clearly communicated to management that the new demands were unreasonable. Unfortunately, rather than acting with fairness, management responded by notifying the grievant of a two week suspension. The Arbitrator ruled that the V.A. failed to carry its burden that its levied suspension was based on just cause. NAGE Attorney Rebecca Mitchell concluded, “The grievant certainly endured differing and unjust treatment when, after gaining Union Presidency, she exercised her contractual rights to a reduced clinical work schedule. While we are extremely pleased with the arbitrator’s decision in this case, it is regrettable that VA administrators would retaliate against any health care provider in this way."