Exam 10: Administration of the Collective Agreement

You are going to act as the chairperson of a grievance arbitration board for the first time. The grievance relates to the dismissal of an employee. Explain the points about the arbitration process that you should keep in mind. Include, but do not limit your answer to the composition of the board, the hearing, and the award.

Employers who have a claim against an employee because of a violation of the collective agreement must file a grievance.

An employer has had a long standing practice of paying a certain benefit that is not contained in the collective agreement. The employer has decided to cut costs and stop paying the benefit.

A collective agreement provides a mandatory ten-day time limit for the union to refer a grievance to Step two if it is denied at Step one. If the union does not refer the grievance to Step two until 25 days after it is denied at step one which of the following is correct:

A reduction in hours for all employees is a constructive lay off.

An employee who has been absent three times more than the bargaining unit average for more than three years because of a medical condition was discharged. A grievance was filed and at the arbitration hearing it was established that a new medical adviser had prescribed a newly developed medication that would prevent the employee from being absent in the future. Which of the following is correct:

An employer has adopted a practice of extending the duration a new hire is on probationary status for a period of time. This practice is not permitted in the collective agreement. The union will likely be successful with a grievance at arbitration.

The duty to accommodate imposes obligations on:

Interest arbitration involves a hearing to settle the terms of a collective agreement.

Employees on layoff should be notified of any job vacancies posted.

The "obey now, grieve later" principle means that an employee can never refuse to comply with a management directive.

Which of the following is correct regarding a grievance relating to the job posting and selection process:

When an arbitrator determines whether a suspension imposed by an employer for breaking a company rule should be upheld, one factor is the consistency of the enforcement of the rule by the employer.

An employer has had a long standing policy to discipline employees who have not correctly followed a safety procedure, such as lock out, for a balance of shift suspension without pay. As a result of a series of employee injuries the employer increased this penalty to a 5 day suspension without pay. There are no provisions in the collective agreement with respect to penalties of company policies.

An employee was guilty of frequent absenteeism because of an addiction to alcohol. The employer did not have any rules relating to absenteeism. The employee was discharged and subsequently reinstated when the union, employee, and employer signed a last chance agreement. The agreement provided that if the employee's attendance fell below the average for the bargaining unit they would be discharged. Subsequently the employee's attendance did fall below the bargaining unit average and the employee was discharged. Which of the following is correct in this situation:

The duty of fair representation means that the union:

The grievance and arbitration process could benefit which of the following:

An employee has been terminated and the union filed a grievance. The employee will determine whether the grievance is referred to arbitration.

An employer has a rule that prohibits smoking inside the building. An employee who was caught smoking in a washroom has been suspended. The employee wants to have the suspension reduced or reversed. Which of the following is correct in most situations:

Which of the following is correct regarding an arbitration hearing: