County of Berks v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local Union No. 429

963 A.2d 1272, 600 Pa. 128, 2009 Pa. LEXIS 255

• Court: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
• Decided: February 18, 2009
• Docket: Petition 396 MAL 2008
• Status: Published

Opinions

ORDER

PER CURIAM.

AND NOW, this 18th day of February 2009, the Petition for Allowance of Appeal is GRANTED. Because the finding of the arbitrator that Respondents failed to establish just cause for the suspension of the prison guards was rationally derived from the parties’ collective bargaining agreement, it was entitled to deference under the “Essence Test” as reaffirmed by our Court most recently in Westmoreland Intermediate v. Westmoreland (PSEA), 595 Pa. 648, 939 A.2d 855 (2007). The order of the Commonwealth Court overturning the arbitrator’s award is hereby REVERSED. See Office of the Attorney General v. Council 13, AFSCME, 577 Pa. 257, 844 A.2d 1217 (2004) (holding that where just cause is undefined by the terms of a collective bargaining agreement, in order to determine whether an employer had just cause to discipline an employee, an arbitrator may properly examine a variety of factors involving the nature of the existing employment relationship and the particular circumstances surrounding the disciplinary action taken).

Justice SAYLOR files a Dissenting Statement joined by Justice EAKIN and Justice BAER.