Kier v. County of Hall

30 Neb. Ct. App. 1, 963 N.W.2d 74
CourtNebraska Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 22, 2021
DocketA-20-550
StatusPublished

This text of 30 Neb. Ct. App. 1 (Kier v. County of Hall) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nebraska Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kier v. County of Hall, 30 Neb. Ct. App. 1, 963 N.W.2d 74 (Neb. Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

Nebraska Supreme Court Online Library www.nebraska.gov/apps-courts-epub/ 07/13/2021 08:08 AM CDT

-1- Nebraska Court of Appeals Advance Sheets 30 Nebraska Appellate Reports KIER v. COUNTY OF HALL Cite as 30 Neb. App. 1

Melissa Kier and the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge #10, appellants, v. County of Hall, Nebraska, et al., appellees. ___ N.W.2d ___

Filed June 22, 2021. No. A-20-550.

1. Administrative Law: Appeal and Error. In reviewing an administra- tive agency decision on a petition in error, both the district court and the appellate court review the decision to determine whether the agency acted within its jurisdiction and whether sufficient, relevant evidence supports the decision of the agency. 2. Administrative Law: Evidence. The evidence is sufficient, as a matter of law, if an administrative tribunal could reasonably find the facts as it did on the basis of the testimony and exhibits contained in the record before it. 3. Administrative Law: Appeal and Error. The reviewing court in an error proceeding is restricted to the record before the administrative agency and does not reweigh evidence or make independent findings of fact. 4. Administrative Law: Judgments: Words and Phrases. An adminis- trative agency decision must not be arbitrary and capricious. Agency action is “arbitrary and capricious” if it is taken in disregard of the facts or circumstances of the case, without some basis which would lead a reasonable and honest person to the same conclusion. 5. Contracts. In interpreting a contract, a court must first determine, as a matter of law, whether the contract is ambiguous. 6. Contracts: Words and Phrases. A contract is ambiguous when a word, phrase, or provision in the contract has, or is susceptible of, at least two reasonable but conflicting interpretations or meanings. 7. Contracts. When the terms of a contract are clear, a court may not resort to rules of construction, and the terms are to be accorded their -2- Nebraska Court of Appeals Advance Sheets 30 Nebraska Appellate Reports KIER v. COUNTY OF HALL Cite as 30 Neb. App. 1

plain and ordinary meaning as an ordinary or reasonable person would understand them. 8. ____. The fact that the parties have suggested opposing meanings of a disputed instrument does not necessarily compel the conclusion that the instrument is ambiguous. 9. Contracts: Evidence. A contract found to be ambiguous presents a question of fact and permits the consideration of extrinsic evidence to determine the meaning of the contract. 10. Contracts. A contract must receive a reasonable construction and must be construed as a whole. 11. ____. If possible, effect must be given to every part of a contract. 12. ____. A court is not free to rewrite a contract or to speculate as to terms of the contract which the parties have not seen fit to include. 13. Contracts: Intent. A court should avoid interpreting contract provisions in a manner that leads to unreasonable or absurd results that are obvi- ously inconsistent with the parties’ intent. 14. Appeal and Error. An appellate court is not obligated to engage in an analysis that is not necessary to adjudicate the case and controversy before it.

Appeal from the District Court for Hall County: John H. Marsh, Judge. Affirmed. Thomas P. McCarty and Gary L. Young, of Keating, O’Gara, Nedved & Peter, P.C., L.L.O., for appellants. Ashley H. Connell and Pamela J. Bourne, of Woods Aitken, L.L.P., for appellees. Pirtle, Chief Judge, and Arterburn and Welch, Judges. Pirtle, Chief Judge. INTRODUCTION This case involves an employment relationship between the Hall County Sheriff’s Department (the Department) and Melissa Kier, a deputy sheriff. Kier and the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge #10 (FOP #10), filed a grievance concern- ing the application of shift-bidding provisions in each appli- cable collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that governed the employment relationship. This dispute centers on whether -3- Nebraska Court of Appeals Advance Sheets 30 Nebraska Appellate Reports KIER v. COUNTY OF HALL Cite as 30 Neb. App. 1

the Hall County Sheriff’s Department Merit Commission (Merit Commission) properly interpreted and applied provi- sions of each CBA, as well as the Merit Commission’s own regulations. Kier and FOP #10 appeal from the order of the district court for Hall County, which affirmed the decision of the Merit Commission. We affirm. BACKGROUND CBA’s Kier is employed as a deputy sheriff with the Department. FOP #10 is a “[l]abor organization” as defined in Neb. Rev. Stat. § 48-801(7) (Cum. Supp. 2020) and is the collective bar- gaining representative for the Department. Rick Conrad, the elected sheriff of Hall County, is the personnel director for the Department. The Department and FOP #10 entered into a CBA, effec- tive from July 1, 2016, to June 20, 2019, which controlled the wages and employment conditions of deputy sheriffs employed by the Department. Subsequently, the Department and FOP #10 entered an amendment to the CBA, which added a “shift bidding” provision to the agreement. When the 2016-19 CBA expired, the Department and FOP #10 entered into a second agreement, with terms that were identical to the prior agree- ment. The second CBA was to be effective from July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2021. The shift-bidding provision of the CBA’s provided that, except for certain excludable positions within the Department, “all bargaining unit position work shifts and days off, will be open for bid on an annual basis” and “[e]mployees will be allowed to select work shifts and days off . . . based on seniority.” Under this provision, the Department was required to annually create and approve a schedule containing available work shifts, and FOP #10 would then conduct a bid for the shifts according to seniority. Following the completion of the bidding process, FOP #10 was to return the results of the bid to the Department for implementation. -4- Nebraska Court of Appeals Advance Sheets 30 Nebraska Appellate Reports KIER v. COUNTY OF HALL Cite as 30 Neb. App. 1

In addition to the shift-bidding provision, the CBA’s pro- vided that the elected sheriff would retain certain management rights over the Department. Article III of each CBA stated that “[a]ll management rights, functions, responsibilities, and authority not specifically limited by the express terms of this Agreement are retained by the Sheriff and remain exclusively within the rights of the Sheriff.” The CBA’s enumerated spe- cific rights retained by management, including “[t]he right to direct and arrange work forces[,] including the right to hire, examine, classify, promote, train, transfer, assign, and retain employees[.]” The CBA’s provided that if the sheriff trans- fers an employee from one shift to another, at least 30 days’ advance notice must be provided. Kier began working for the Department in December 2014 as a deputy sheriff. The terms and provisions of the CBA’s applied to Kier’s employment. At all relevant times, there were three potential shifts in the Department: day shift (6 a.m. to 4 p.m.), swing shift (2 p.m. to 12 a.m.), and night shift (8 p.m. to 6 a.m.).

2018 Annual Shift Bid and Kier’s Performance Issues Kier began working the night shift in August 2018, follow- ing the annual shift bid. Prior to that date, she had worked the day shift. The record shows that after Kier began to work the night shift, the Department documented several incidents where Kier was counseled for “unacceptable or unsatisfactory work performance, which [had] resulted in two letters of repri- mand.” These incidents are summarized below.

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Bluebook (online)
30 Neb. Ct. App. 1, 963 N.W.2d 74, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kier-v-county-of-hall-nebctapp-2021.