The Local Union was justified in its conclusion that Mitchell’s case could not be successfully arbitrated.  Mitchell was absent from work for more than three days and could not provide the necessary documentation to support his request for medical leave. The collective bargaining agreement has a provision specifically authorizing the termination of employees who have…

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Hamilton’s seniority was terminated pursuant to Paragraph (49) of the DaimlerChrysler National Agreement after he was absent for five days without providing evidence to support the reason for his absence. The Company had given him until February 11, 2000, to file papers certifying his entitlement to leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Hamilton…

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When Ford sent the Five-Day Quit Notice, Eckert no longer had the protection of FMLA leave, because he had already exceeded the 15 days allowed to an employee by the FMLA to provide medical certification to the employer. The National Agreement provides greater protection than the FMLA against a loss of seniority by an employee…

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While it is true that the Casino did not maintain a very precise account of the points assessed and removed from Greene’s record in accordance with the system described in its attendance policy, it is also obvious that the point system was never strictly enforced. Greene was not terminated for any particular point, but because…

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The Company followed the contract and sent Toliver a five-day notice when he failed to return from medical leave. Toliver’s failure to claim his registered mail and respond to it gave the Company the right to terminate his seniority. There was no basis for pursuing an appeal of Toliver’s grievance to the Umpire.

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The Company’s Rules of Conduct state unequivocally that leaving the plant without permission and overstaying lunch period can lead to disciplinary action. Pappas does not deny that he left the plant without permission and overstayed his lunch period. He was working under the terms of a reinstatement waiver which precluded him from challenging the reasonableness…

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The rational basis standard requires a professional approach to making the decision whether to submit a grievance to the Umpire. Part of that approach is doing an adequate investigation of the particular circumstances of the grievance as well as researching prior Umpire decisions to determine the probability of success. The Umpire decisions submitted to us…

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The International Representative’s decision to withdraw Ballard’s grievance was clearly rational. There is no evidence that Ballard made any effort to obtain a medical leave of absence in September 2004 when he was offered a conditional reinstatement. If he disagreed with the settlement of his grievance in 2004, his option was to appeal that settlement…

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Simpson knew as early as July 2, 2007, that the company was claiming he worked during the period of his disability. Simpson’s description of what he communicated to President Presley remains vague, particularly in light of the serious charge against him and the ease with which it could have been addressed. Significantly, he did not…

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