Burrillville v. Ri Labor Relations Bd.

• Decision Date: 04 May 2007
• Docket Number: No. 2004-53-M.P.,2004-53-M.P.
• Citation: 921 A.2d 113
• Parties: TOWN OF BURRILLVILLE v. RHODE ISLAND STATE LABOR RELATIONS BOARD.
• Court: Rhode Island Supreme Court

921 A.2d 113

TOWN OF BURRILLVILLE v. RHODE ISLAND STATE LABOR RELATIONS BOARD.

No. 2004-53-M.P.

Supreme Court of Rhode Island.

May 4, 2007.

Jeffrey W. Kasle, for Plaintiff.

Margaret L. Hogan, Wakefield, for Defendant.

Present: WILLIAMS, C.J., GOLDBERG, FLAHERTY, SUTTELL, and ROBINSON, JJ.

OPINION

Justice ROBINSON for the Court.

This matter is before this Court pursuant to our issuance of a writ of certiorari. The Town of Burrillville (Town) seeks review of a Superior Court decision denying the Town's appeal of a decision by the State Labor Relations Board (SLRB), which held that the Town had committed an unfair labor practice in violation of the Rhode Island Labor Relations Act (Act), G.L. 1956 chapter 7 of title 28. The dispute centers around a particular order issued by the Town's chief of police that became effective on or about March 10, 1999 and that is referred to as "General Order No. 1."¹

Before this Court, the Town argues (1) that the election-of-remedies doctrine should have precluded Local 369 of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers (Union) from filing an unfair labor practice charge with the SLRB in reference to this dispute; (2) that the Town had no obligation to bargain over the implementation of General Order No. 1; and (3) that the Union waived its right to bargain over the implementation of General Order No. 1.

For the reasons set forth in this opinion, we quash the decision of the Superior Court.

Facts and Travel

The facts of this case are largely undisputed. Pursuant to the Act's definitional section (§ 28-7-3), the Town is an "employer." The Union is a "labor organization" within the meaning of the Act, and it is the bargaining representative for the Town of Burrillville Police Department. The Town and the Union entered into a collective bargaining agreement, which was in effect at all times pertinent to the events described herein. Pursuant to Articles 1.9 and 2.1 of the collective bargaining agreement, the Town of Burrillville was vested with the authority to issue rules, regulations, and general orders.

In early March of 1999, Colonel Bernard Gannon, the chief of police, drafted General Order No. 1, which set forth the administrative procedure pursuant to which police officers who were injured in the line of duty were to report their injuries in order to receive injured-on-duty (IOD) benefits.² General Order No. 1 requires police officers to submit the following forms (collectively referred to as an IOD package) in order to be placed on IOD status: (1) a form reporting the injury; (2) the statements of any witnesses; (3) a form authorizing any medical providers to release to the Police Department medical information relating to the injury; (4) a form to be completed by the injured officer's immediate supervisor; and (5) a statement from all medical providers indicating (a) whether the injury in question was job-related, (b) the officer's medical diagnosis, (c) whether the officer would be able to perform his or her regular duties, (d) the officer's prognosis, (e) the rehabilitation of the officer, and (f) the date when the officer would be able to return to his or her regular duties (which statement must be updated if the officer does not return to his or her regular duties by the time initially specified).

Under General Order No. 1, a new IOD package is required every time that an officer, after returning to work, sustains a recurrence of a previous IOD injury or needs additional medical treatment as a result of the previous IOD injury. General Order No. 1 also requires an officer to present medical documentation clearing the officer to return to work before he or she can return to "duty" status.

Additionally, section 10 of General Order No. 1 provides that an officer will be suspended for two days without pay if he or she twice fails to appear to be examined by the Town's physician if the Town determines that such an appointment is needed. Section 11 requires that officers on IOD status "notify the Office of the Chief of Police of his/her intention to leave * * * Rhode Island" for more than twenty-four hours; in such cases, that officer's IOD status will be changed and the officer will be required to use vacation time for that purpose.

Prior to the implementation of General Order No. 1, Colonel Gannon held a face-to-face meeting with Officer Macomber (the president of the Union at that time) and Sergeant McBrier (the vice president of the Union at that time). During that meeting, Colonel Gannon gave a copy of General Order No. 1 to both Officer Macomber and Sergeant McBrier for their review, and the three of them discussed its substance.

At the hearing before the SLRB, Sergeant McBrier testified that, upon reviewing General Order No. 1 during that meeting, he and Officer Macomber "spoke for quite some time" with Colonel Gannon. He further testified that he and Officer Macomber voiced their concerns to the Colonel about the perceived problems that they had with respect to certain of the procedures set forth in General Order No. 1. At the conclusion of the meeting with Colonel Gannon, it was Sergeant McBrier's belief that, "as [they] had done in the past," the three participants would arrange another meeting, at which their respective lawyers would also be present in order to further discuss General Order No. 1.

Notably, however, Sergeant McBrier admitted before the SLRB that neither he nor any other officer of the Union had ever submitted to the Police Department a written request that the Union and Town bargain over General Order No. 1. Sergeant McBrier also stated that he never specifically said to Colonel Gannon, "We want to bargain over the implementation of this general order" at any time after its implementation. Colonel Gannon testified before the SLRB that the Union never notified him, either verbally or in writing, that it believed that General Order No. 1 involved mandatory subjects for bargaining.

Additionally, Sergeant McBrier testified that at no time prior to the implementation of General Order No. 1 did the Town express any willingness to rescind General Order No. 1 and bargain with the Union over it. Sergeant McBrier also conceded that the Union had not bargained with the Police Department on any of the prior similar general orders that Colonel Gannon had issued in his capacity as chief of police; Colonel Gannon's own testimony is completely consistent with that statement.

On March 10, 1999, approximately one week after his meeting with Officer Macomber and Sergeant McBrier,³ Colonel Gannon implemented General Order No. 1 in accordance with the procedure required by the collective bargaining agreement between the Town and the Union.

Several months later, on July 22, 1999, the Union filed a grievance under the collective bargaining agreement regarding the implementation of General Order No. 1. The Union alleged that requiring Sergeant McBrier to use his vacation leave when he traveled out of state on a pre-approved vacation while he was on IOD status violated the collective bargaining agreement. On February 11, 2000, the matter was heard before an arbitrator (again in accordance with the terms of the collective bargaining agreement), who ultimately rendered a decision on April 25, 2000, in which he ruled that paragraph 17 of General Order No. 1 did not violate the collective bargaining agreement.

On August 24, 1999, while the above-mentioned grievance was still pending, the Union filed a charge with the SLRB, arguing that the Town had violated § 28-7-12 and §§ 28-7-13(6) and (10) of the Act by implementing General Order No. 1 without first bargaining with the Union. After an unsuccessful informal conference between the Town and the Union, the SLRB issued a complaint against the Town on August 25, 2000 alleging violations of §§ 28-7-13(6) and (10). Seventeen months after the Union filed the charge with the SLRB, on or about January 23, 2001, this matter was formally heard before the SLRB. On April 29, 2002, the SLRB ruled that the Town had violated § 28-7-13(6) by failing to bargain with the Union before implementing General Order No. 1. The SLRB found (a) that the issues of the receipt of IOD benefits and discipline were mandatory subjects for bargaining and (b) that the Union had not waived its right to bargain over the issuance of General Order No. 1. Consequently, the SLRB ordered the Town to cease and desist from using the provisions of General Order No. 1 as they pertained to the temporary and permanent discharge of sick time and the possible imposition of discipline without first bargaining with the Union regarding the implementation of General Order No. 1.

The Town sought judicial review of the SLRB's Decision and Order (SLRB's decision) in the Superior Court pursuant to G.L. 1956 § 42-35-15 of the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). On January 30, 2004, the Superior Court issued its decision affirming the SLRB's decision. Then, in accordance with § 42-35-16, the Town filed a Petition for Issuance of a Writ of Certiorari with this Court on February 19, 2004; we granted that petition on September 24, 2004.

Standard of Review

The Superior Court's review of an administrative decision is governed by § 42-35-15 of the APA. Rossi v. Employees' Retirement System, 895 A.2d 106, 109 (R.I. 2006); Arnold v. Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training Board of Review, 822 A.2d 164, 166 (R.I.2003).

Section 42-35-15(g) authorizes that court to:

"affirm the decision of the agency or remand the case for further proceedings, or * * * reverse or modify the decision if substantial rights of the appellant have been prejudiced because the administrative findings, inferences, conclusions, or decisions are:

"(1) In violation of constitutional or statutory provisions;

"(2) In excess of the statutory authority of the agency;

"(3) Made upon unlawful procedure;

"(4) Affected by other error or law;

"(5) Clearly erroneous in view of the...