In the case of Portage Cty. Bd. of Dev. Disabilities v. Portage Cty. Educators’ Assn. for Dev. Disabilities, 2017-Ohio-888, an Ohio appellate court found that an arbitrator did not exceed his authority in imposing reasonable limits on a board’s authority to increase an account clerk’s job duties.
The case involved an account clerk in the transportation department who was occasionally asked to fill in as a substitute bus driver, which she agreed to do, even though the job duties for her position were clerical only. The issue came to a head when the account clerk, who suffered from knee and back problems, did not wish to continue acting as a substitute bus driver.
The Ohio appellate court concluded that the board arbitrarily and capriciously increased the job duties beyond the reasonable scope of the job duties normally associated with a clerical position. The Ohio appellate court reached this conclusion even though it was “unquestioned [under the CBA] that the [board was] permitted to increase [the account clerk’s] duties once per year” and the account clerk initially volunteered to serve as a bus driver for the board. Portage Cty. at ¶ 43.
The fact that the Ohio appellate court actually read a “reasonable limitation” requirement into the CBA which mandates that any increase in the job “must be clerical in nature or in the realm of job duties typically characteristic of a designated job” – where none exists – demonstrates the high bar that school officials should expect when asking a court to vacate an arbitration award. Portage Cty. at ¶ 45.
To read this case, please click here.
Authors: Matthew John Markling and Patrick Vrobel
Note: This blog entry does not constitute – nor does it contain – legal advice. Legal jurisprudence is like the always changing Midwestern weather. As a result, this single blog entry cannot substitute for consultation with a McGown & Markling attorney. If legal advice is needed with respect to a specific factual situation, please feel free to contact a McGown & Markling attorney.