City of Lewiston Sch. Dep't v. Maine State Employees Ass'n

• Court: Superior Court of Maine
• Decided: October 7, 2009
• Docket: ANDap-09-001
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

STATE OF MAINE RECEIVfiD &FILED SUPERIOR COURT ANDROSCOGGIN, ss CIVIL ACTION (JCT O? 2009 DOCKET NO. AP-09-001 fV'Tl- ~ND-- ID(7~ .. AI\lDROSCOGGIN ~ , ;:l (.;)0,/ I SUPERIOR COURT CITY OF LEWISTON SCHOOL DEPARTMENT,

Plaintiff / Petitioner

v. DECISION AND JUDGMENT (M.R.Civ.P. SOC)

MAINE STATE EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION, SEIU, Local 1989, and THE MAINE LABOR RELATIONS BOARD,

Defendants / Respondents

I. BEFORE THE COURT

Before the court is a petition filed by the City of Lewiston School Department

(the Department) asking for review of a decision of the Maine Labor Relations Board

(MLRB) pursuant to M.R.Civ.P. 80C.

. II. BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

This appeal involves the collective bargaining principle that a public employer

fails to bargain in good faith if the employer unilaterally changes the terms and

conditions of employment, after a collective bargaining agreement has expired.· In this

case, the Department contests the MLRB's determination that the Department violated

this principle when it changed the terms of its bargaining agreement with the Maine

State Employees Association, SEIU, Local 1989 (MSEA) after the agreement between the

parties had expired. The MSEA is the labor organization recognized and certified as the

bargaining agent for one unit of employees of the Department. The Department and the MSEA were parties to the collective bargaining

agreement effective July 1, 2005 through June 30, 2008 (Agreement). The Agreement set

forth the percentages of the employees' health insurance to be paid by the employer

and by the employee. The Agreement specifically provided:

For the 2007-2008 school year, the Committee's contribution will be increased by a percentage equal to the annual MEA Anthem BC/BS Choice Plus plan premium rate increase, with a maximum cap not to exceed 13% more than the contribution for the 2006-2007 school year. Any increase above the Committee's capped contribution will be paid by the employee.

Pursuant to the Agreement, the Department and its employees shared

responsibility for premium payments. On July 1, 2006, there was a 5% increase in the

Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Plus Plan (Anthem) premium. During the 2006-2007

school year, the Department and the employees each paid 5% more than they had in the

prior year, which covered the 5% overall premium increase. On July 1, 2007, there was

an 8.66% increase in the Anthem premium. Accordingly, during the 2006-2007 school

year, the Department and the employees each paid 8.66% more than they had the prior

year. 1

The Department and the MSEA began negotiating over a successor agreement in

mid-June, 2008, and the Agreement expired before a new agreement was reached. On

May 2, 2008, the Lewiston School Department Benefits Specialist, Jackie Little, sent an e-

mail message to Union member Jacqueline Smith setting forth the respective

contributions to health insurance premiums for employees as of July 1, 2008, if the new

agreement was not settled by that date. On July 1, 2008, the Anthem premium

increased by 4%. After June 30,2008, the Department continued to contribute the same

I Each year of the Agreement the Department and the employees paid the same percentage of the premiums based on the employee's level of coverage. For example, under a single payer plan an employee paid 14.6% of the costs while the Department paid 85.4%. The dollar amount increased under this formula for both the Department and the employees based on the increase in premiums.

2 dollar amount to health insurance premiums that it contributed during the 2007-2008

school year. In other words, upon the expiration of the Agreement, the Department

kept its own contribution to the premium at the same dollar level and increased the

amount deducted from the paychecks of each unit employee to cover the full increase in

the health insurance premiums imposed by Anthem.

On September 5, 2008, the MSEA filed a prohibited practice complaint with the

MLRB, the agency that is authorized by statute (26 M.R.S. § 968) to adjudicate disputes

in the field of labor relations. The complaint alleged that the Department unilaterally

changed the status quo established by the Agreement in violation of 26 M.R.S. §

964(1)(A) and 964(1)(E).2 Specifically the MSEA alleged that the Department failed to

bargain in good faith when it unilaterally changed the percentage of the health

insurance paid by the employer during bargaining. According to the MSEA, the

Department's action interfered with, restrained or coerced employees in the exercise of

their rights.

In its decision and order the MLRB agreed with the MSEA and found that the

Department violated the Municipal Public Employees Labor Relations Law (MPELRL)

by failing to bargain in good faith when it unilaterally changed a term of employment

after the expiration of the Agreement. The School Department's decision to keep its

own contribution to the health care premium at the same dollar level and increase the

2 The relevant subsections provide the following:

1. PUBLIC EMPLOYER PROHIDITIONS. Public employers, their representatives and their agents are prohibited from: A. Interfering with, restraining or coercing employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in section 963; ...

***

E. Refusing to bargain collectively with the bargaining agent of its employees as required by section 965; ...

26 M.R.S. § 964(l)(A), (l)(E) (2008).

3 amount deducted from the employees' paychecks constituted a change in the status

quo. Thus, the Department acted to make a unilateral change in a mandatory subject of

bargaining that constituted a refusal to bargain in violation of 26 M.R.S. § 964(1)(E) and

(l)(A). Accordingly, the MLRB determined that the Department was obligated to

increase its contributions to health insurance premiums after the Agreement had

expired.

The Department asserts that the terms of the Agreement expressly limit increases

to the Department's contributions to health insurance premiums to the 2006-2007 and

2007-2008 school years. It is the Department's contention in this appeal that the MLRB

acted beyond its statutory authority and in violation of the contractual rights of the

Department in improperly construing the Agreement between the parties. The

Department argues that it is the MLRB that acted improperly when it unilaterally

obligated the Department to increase its contributions to health insurance premiums

contrary to the terms of the expired Agreement.

III. DISCUSSION

A. Standard of Review.

The court may only reverse or modify an administrative agency's decision if it is

based upon "bias or error of law," is "unsupported by substantial evidence on the

whole record," is "arbitrary or capricious," or involves an "abuse of discretion" by the

agency. 5 M.R.S. § 1l007(4)(C)(4)-(6) (2008). The court cannot "substitute its judgment

for that of the agency on questions of fact." 5 M.R.S. at § 11007(3). The focus on appeal

is not whether the court would have reached the same conclusion as the agency, but

whether the record contains competent and substantial evidence that supports the

result reached by the agency. CWCO, Inc. v. Superintendent of Ins., 1997 ME 226, 703

4 A.2d 1258, 1261. This court cannot "attempt to second guess the agency on matters

falling within its realm of expertise," and judicial review is limited to the question of

"whether the agency's conclusions are unreasonable, unjust or unlawful in light of the

record." Imagineering v. Superintendent of Ins., 593 A.2d 1050, 1053 (Me. 1991). Where

the question is one of statutory interpretation the court reviews for errors of law. Botting

v. Dep't of Behavioral & Developmental Servs., 2003 ME 152,

MLRB is granted considerable deference in construing public employment collective

bargaining statutes because of its expertise in the area of labor relations. Mountain

Valley Educ. Ass'n v. Maine Sch. Admin. Dist. No. 43,655 A.2d 348, 354 (Me. 1995).

B. Error of Law.

The Department asserts it is unlawful for the MRLB, without any statutory

authority, to impose an obligation for school districts to pay increased health insurance

contributions that were never negotiated and never budgeted. The court must

determine whether the MLRB erred in how it defined the status quo that must be

maintained for health insurance premium costs when the Agreement expired and the

parties were negotiating a successor agreement.

The lVIPELRL, 26 M.R.S.A. §§ 961-974, extends to all public employees the rights

to organize and to bargain collectively. Minot Sch. Comm. v. Minot Educ. Ass'n, 1998 ME

211,

obligations "to confer and negotiate in good faith with respect to wages, hours, working

conditions and contract grievance arbitration," 26 M.R.S.A. § 965(1)(C), and "to

participate in good faith in the mediation, fact-finding and arbitration procedures

required by this section," 26 M.R.S.A. § 965(l)(E) (2008). The MPELRL empowers the

MLRB to prevent "the prohibited acts enumerated in section 964," 26 M.R.S.A. §

968(5)(A), one of which is "refusing to bargain collectively," 26 M.R.S.A. § 964(1)(E).

5 The Law Court has recognized the "well-established rule of labor law that an

employer may not unilaterally alter the terms and conditions of employment after the

expiration of a collective bargaining agreement." Lane v. Board of Directors of Maine

School Administrative Dist., 447 A.2d 806, 810 (Me. 1982). This rule is based on the

principle that unilateral alterations of the collective bargaining agreement are in

contravention of the statutory duty to bargain in good faith. [d. Accordingly, when an

employer initiates a unilateral change in violation of his statutory responsibilities, he

commits an unfair labor practice. [d. The requirement to bargain and negotiate in good

faith includes the obligation to maintain the status quo following the expiration of a

contract. Board of Trustees v. Associated Colt Staff, 659 A.2d 842,843 (Me. 1995).3

In the Colt decision, the Law Court addressed the definition of status quo at the

expiration of acollective bargaining agreement. Colt, at 842. The University of Maine

System (the University) and its bargaining agent, ACSUM, had a collective bargaining

agreement that provided for across-the-board wage increases for employees for each

year of the contract. Colt, at 844. When the agreement expired, the University adhered

to the last wage schedule, and discontinued the annual step increases for employees,

except as they applied to promotions. [d. The MLRB concluded that the failure of the

University to adhere to the wage increase after the agreement expired constituted a

unilateral change in the status quo prohibited under the law. [d. at 843-44. The Court

found that "[t]o say that the status quo must be maintained during negotiations is one

thing; to say that the status quo includes a change and means automatic increases in

3 In cases involving allegations of unilateral changes after the expiration of an agreement, the MLRB looks to the terms of the expired agreement as evidence of the status quo that must be maintained. See, e.g., MSEA v. School Committee of City of Lewiston, No. 90-12 (Aug. 21, 1990) at 16. The established practices regarding the mandatory subjects of bargaining are also considered to determine the status quo between the parties. See, e.g., Council #74, AFSCME v. School Admin. District #1, No. 81-12, at 4 (March 11, 1981).

6 salary is another." Id. at 845 (quoting Board of Coop. Educ. Servs. v. New York State Pub.

Employment Relations Bd., 41 N.Y.2d 753, 363 N.E.2d 1174, 1177, 395 N.Y.S.2d 439 (N.Y.

1977)). The MLRB's "recently adopted dynamic status quo rule" improperly "obligated

the University to pay substantial increases in wages not approved by its trustees, and

dramatically altered the status and bargaining positions of the parties." Id. at 845. The

rule changed, rather than maintained, the status quo. Id.

In the instant case, the respondents contend that maintaining the status quo

required maintaining the percentage of the premium being paid by the employer and

the employees at the expiration of the Agreement. In other words, in order to maintain

the status quo, the Department and its employees were to continue to share the

premium payments at the same proportions they shared them over the life of the

Agreement. Conversely, the Department contends the status quo should be the dollar

amount paid by the employer for health insurance premiums at the expiration of the

Agreement. The Department claims the IvILRB erred in applying a dynamic view of

status quo in this case.

According to the terms of the Agreement the Department does not expressly

agree to pay a percentage of the health care insurance premiums. At the same time, the

Agreement does not provide that the Department would contribute a specific dollar

amount toward the premium. In the Agreement, it is the employees' contribution that

is expressed as a fixed dollar amount, not the employer's. Unlike Colt, this case does

not involve the continuation of step increases in wages, which the Law Court

determined would change the status quo. Instead, the Department's act to burden the

employees with the entire increase in premiums when previously the costs had been

shared changed the status quo. The Department and the employees had the same level

of cost sharing for all three years the Agreement was in force. Both the Department's

7 share and each the employee's share increased at the same rate as Anthem's increase in

the overall health insurance premium. The contract included a 13% cap on the amount

of premium increase the employer would absorb, but the cap was never reached. The

terms of the contract demonstrate that both parties anticipated increases in premiums

and established a mechanism for sharing the burden of those increases, up to 13%.

When Anthem raised its premium rate by 4% in July 2008, both the Deparbnent

and the employees would have had to pay 4% more than they had the prior year for

health insurance under the terms of the Agreement. If the Deparbnent had continued

to abide by the language in the Agreement both the Department and the employees

would have had to shoulder a portion of the overall premium increase. Instead, the

Department passed the burden of the entire increase onto the employees, so that

employees saw an increase of 26-37%, depending on their level of coverage. Thus, the

Department's refusal to pay part of the rate increase would have resulted in a sudden

obligation for employees to pay drastically higher health insurance premiums. The

lVILRB did not err in considering the terms of the Agreement and the substantial impact

of the change on the employees. The Board reasonably concluded that the

Department's action was a significant unilateral change in a mandatory subject of

bargaining.

C. Mootness.

The MSEA asserts that the parties have agreed to a new 2008-2011 collective

bargaining agreement, which provides for retroactive compensation to employees who

paid the disproportionate amount of health insurance premium during the period

between contracts. Thus, the MSEA contends that because the Deparbnent is in the

process of compensating employees for premium overpayments due to the disruption

of the status quo, the issue is now moot.

8 Courts dismiss as moot questions whose resolution will have limited or no

practical effect. Bureau of Employee Relations v. Maine Labor Relations Bd., 655 A.2d 326

(Me. 1995).4 Courts review for mootness by examining the record to determine whether

there remain sufficient practical effects flowing from the resolution of the litigation to

justify the application of limited judicial resources. ld.

The MSEA has not provided evidence of a new agreement and the Department

has not stipulated to this factual assertion. Regardless of this issue, the appeal should

be denied for the reasons stated above.

IV. DECISION AND JUDGMENT

The clerk will make the following entry as the Decision and Judgment of the

court:

• The judgment of the Maine Labor Relations Board is affirmed.

SO ORDERED.

Dated: October 6, 2009

4 The Law Court has recognized three exceptions to the mootness doctrine:

First, the court will determine whether sufficient coIlateral consequences will result from determination of the questions presented so as to justify relief. Second, while technically moot in the immediate context, questions of great public interest may nevertheless be addressed for the future guidance of the bar and of the public. Third, issues which may be repeatedly presented to the trial court, yet escape review at the appellate level because of their fleeting or determinate nature, may appropriately be decided.

Id. (citing State v. Irish, 551 A.2d 860/ 862 (Me. 1988).