In the case of Hall v. Rocky River, 2019-Ohio-1997, an Ohio appellate court held that a union employee is required to exhaust administrative remedies under the grievance procedure prior to bringing a court action under a collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”).
In this case, a union employee was terminated for poor performance. The union employee appealed the termination decision through the first three-steps of the CBA’s five-step grievance procedure. However, the union employee appealed the termination decision directly to the court of common pleas instead of to an arbitrator as mandated in the fourth-step of the grievance procedure. The employer asserted that the case must dismissed because the union employee failed to exhaust all available administrative remedies under the CBA’s grievance procedures.
The appellate court agreed with the employer and found that “it is well-settled that a party must exhaust the available avenues of administrative relief through an administrative appeal before seeking separate judicial intervention.” Hall at ¶ 17. The appellate court further found that “[i]f interested parties are not required to exhaust available administrative remedies, ‘there is the possibility that frequent and deliberate flouting of administrative processes could weaken the effectiveness of any agency by encouraging people to ignore its procedures’” and therefore union employees cannot avoid a step in a collective bargaining agreement’s grievance procedure. Hall at ¶ 22.
To read this case, click here.
Authors: Matthew John Markling and the McGown & Markling Team.
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.