Westmoreland County v. Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board

991 A.2d 976, 188 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2045, 2010 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 81, 2010 WL 653745
CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedFebruary 25, 2010
Docket1009 C.D. 2009
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 991 A.2d 976 (Westmoreland County v. Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Westmoreland County v. Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board, 991 A.2d 976, 188 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2045, 2010 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 81, 2010 WL 653745 (Pa. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinions

OPINION BY

Judge SIMPSON.

In this labor relations case, we review whether the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board (Board) erred by upholding a Nisi Order of Certification that expanded the collective bargaining unit of the Westmore-land Court Association of Professional Employees (Union) to include the positions of Adult Probation Supervisor, Juvenile Probation Supervisor, and Domestic Relations Case Establishment/Initiation Supervisor. Westmoreland County (County) asserts the jobs at issue are supervisory or managerial-level positions as defined by the Pennsylvania Public Employe Relations Act (PERA)1 and are therefore excluded from the bargaining unit. The County further argues the Board’s order encroaches on the exclusive authority of the President Judge of the Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas to make personnel decisions. Discerning no error below, we affirm.

In 1992, the Union became the recognized bargaining representative for all full- and part-time professional employees directly involved with and necessary to the functioning of the Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court and who are hired, fired and directed by it. Reproduced Record (R.R.) at 11 a. The unit excluded law librarians, nonprofessional employees, management level employees, supervisors, first level supervisors, confidential employees and guards, as those terms are defined by PERA. Id.

In March, 2006, the Union filed a petition for representation (Petition) with the Board requesting that the following Domestic Relations’ (DR) positions be accreted to the bargaining unit: Enforcement Officers, Conference Officers, and Attorneys. Id. The Petition also sought inclusion of Adult and Juvenile Probation Supervisors (collectively, Probation Supervisors) in the bargaining unit. Id. The County and the Union reached an agreement regarding many of the positions; however, they could not agree on the positions of Probation Supervisors and DR Case Establishment/Initiation Supervisor (Establishment Supervisor). The Petition affected seven Adult Probation Supervisors, three Juvenile Probation Supervisors and one Establishment Supervisor.

In April and July, 2008, a Board hearing examiner conducted hearings on the Petition. The hearing examiner subsequently entered an order directing submission of an eligibility list, concluding the positions at issue were neither supervisory nor managerial within the meaning of PERA. The County complied with the hearing examiner’s order, and the Board thereafter issued an order directing an election to determine whether the positions at issue should be included in the bargaining unit. The election resulted in favor of representation, and a Board agent certified the Union as the exclusive representative of the expanded bargaining unit and issued a Nisi Order of Certification. The bargaining unit now includes:

All full-time and regular part-time professional employes who are directly involved with and necessary to the func[979]*979tioning of the courts and who are hired, fired and directed by the courts including but not limited to Title IV-D Attorneys, [DR] Enforcement and Conference Officers, Family Court and Orphan’s Court Administrators, [DR] Lead Officers, Adult Probation employes and Adult Probation Supervisors; Juvenile Probation employes and Juvenile Probation Supervisors; [DR] employes and the [DR Establishment Supervisor]; and excluding the Adult Probation Technical Hearing Officer, Family Court Masters and Hearing Officers, [DR] PACSES Coordinator and all other employes, management level employes, supervisors above the first level of supervision, confidential employes and guards as defined by [PERA].

R.R. at 56a.

The County filed exceptions to the Nisi Order, contending the hearing examiner erred in concluding that the duties of Probation Supervisors and Establishment Supervisor (collectively, Supervisors) are neither supervisory nor managerial under PERA. The County further asserted the hearing examiner erred by disregarding the current Establishment Supervisor’s testimony on the basis she described post-petition duties.

The Board adopted the hearing examiner’s findings regarding the duties of Probation Supervisors. The Board, however, agreed with the County that the hearing examiner erred by failing to consider the duties of the current Establishment Supervisor. The Board found the rationale of disregarding post-petition duties was inapplicable here where the record lacked evidence showing the County changed the duties of the position after filing of the Petition in order to justify its inclusion or exclusion from the bargaining unit. See In the Matter of the Employes of Elizabeth Twp., 33 Pa. Pub. Employee Rep. ¶ 33053 (2002), aff'd sub nom, Elizabeth Twp. v. Pa. Labor Relations Bd., (Pa.Cmwlth., No. 1521 C.D. 2002, filed March 17, 2003). As a result, the Board made additional findings regarding the position of Establishment Supervisor and included it in the expanded bargaining unit.

The County now petitions this Court for review of the Board’s order rendering the Nisi Order of Certification absolute and final.2 The County presents the same arguments it presented below, and further contends the Board’s order encroaches on the authority of the President Judge of Westmoreland County to make personnel decisions.

At the outset, we note the Board’s expertise in the area of public labor law. Berks/Lehigh Valley Coll. Faculty Ass’n v. Pa. Labor Relations Bd., 763 A.2d 548 (Pa.Cmwlth.2000). The Board has exclusive province over credibility determinations and evidentiary weight. Pa. Ass’n of State Mental Hosp. Physicians v. Pa. Labor Relations Bd., 124 Pa.Cmwlth. 28, 554 A.2d 1021 (1989). So long as substantial evidence supports the Board’s findings, we defer to the Board’s conclusions if they are reasonable, and not arbitrary or capricious. Sch. Dist. of Phila. v. Pa. Labor Relations Bd., 719 A.2d 835 (Pa.Cmwlth. [980]*9801998). In addition, we consider Board opinions interpreting PERA as persuasive authority. Cf. Montgomery County v. Pa. Labor Relations Bd., 769 A.2d 554 (Pa.Cmwlth.2001) (hearing examiner’s decision was consistent with prior Board decisions, which provided ample support for Board’s decision assigning some employees to court-related bargaining unit while excluding others).

I. Section 301(6) of PERA

In its first assignment of error, the County maintains Supervisors’ positions are excluded under Section 301(6) of PERA, 43 P.S. § 1101.301(6). With emphasis added, that Section defines “supervisor” as:

any individual having authority in the interests of the employer to hire, transfer, suspend, layoff, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward or discipline other employes or responsibly to direct them or adjust their grievances;

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Exeter Twp. v. PLRB, Teamsters Local Union No. 429.
211 A.3d 752 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 2019)
Exeter Township v. Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board
177 A.3d 428 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2018)
Westmoreland County v. Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board
991 A.2d 976 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2010)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
991 A.2d 976, 188 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2045, 2010 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 81, 2010 WL 653745, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/westmoreland-county-v-pennsylvania-labor-relations-board-pacommwct-2010.