Jefferson County School Dist. No. R-1 v. Shorey
| Decision Date | 10 March 1992 |
| Docket Number | R-1,P,No. 90SC664,90SC664 |
| Citation | 826 P.2d 830 |
| Parties | 73 Ed. Law Rep. 526 JEFFERSON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO.etitioner, v. Denise SHOREY, an individual, and Jefferson County Education Association, Respondents. |
| Court | Colorado Supreme Court |
Caplan and Earnest, Gerald A. Caplan, Allen P. Taggart, Jeannette Walker Kornreich, Boulder, for petitioner.
Martha R. Houser, Gregory J. Lawler, Aurora, for respondents.
This case requires us to determine the nature and extent of the grievance rights of an employee association which functions also as a labor union for public school teachers, and the rights of one of its teacher members, under a collective-bargaining agreement between the employee association and the employer school district. In Shorey v. Jefferson County Sch. Dist. No. R-1, 807 P.2d 1181 (Colo.App.1990), the court of appeals held as follows: that the employee's grievance was not outside the scope of the provisions of the collective-bargaining agreement relating to arbitration; that the employee association was not equitably estopped from compelling non-binding arbitration of a grievance on behalf of one of its members who had been selected but later was rejected for a position, even though the association had previously processed a grievance on behalf of another member who, as a result of the grievance, was selected for the same position; and that the non-binding arbitration clause of the collective-bargaining agreement could not be construed to deny the employee her right to sue the school district for breach of contract. We granted certiorari to review the decision of the court of appeals, and we now affirm the judgment.
On January 1, 1986, the Jefferson County School District No. R-1 (school district) and the Jefferson County Educational Association (association) entered into a Negotiated Agreement (agreement) which was to be effective for a two-year period ending on December 31, 1988. The preamble to the agreement states that it is intended to foster cooperation between the school district and the teachers by encouraging good-faith negotiations and a fair and open exchange of views between the parties. Article 3-1 of the Agreement provides that the association is the exclusive representative of all teachers in the school district. Teachers are defined as "full-time, nonadministrative personnel and part-time teachers ... certified by the Colorado State Department of Education." Agreement, § 1-1. Although the agreement encompasses a wide range of topics ranging from teacher work hours to academic freedom and professional behavior, the central feature of the agreement is the procedure for resolving employee grievances.
A grievance is defined in section 7-1-1 as "a dispute, disagreement or controversy concerning the interpretation or application of this Agreement or related matter." Section 7-2-1 requires a grievant to attempt initially to resolve a grievance informally by personally discussing the matter with the grievant's immediate supervisor. If the grievant and the immediate supervisor cannot resolve the grievance informally, the grievant can resort to a process involving three separate levels. Section 7-3-1 states:
No grievance shall be recognized by the District or the Association unless it shall have been presented at the appropriate level within thirty (30) school days after the aggrieved person knew, or should have known, of the act or condition on which the grievance is based, and if not so presented, the grievance will be considered as waived, except by mutual agreement of the Association and the office of Employee Relations.
Level-one of the grievance process is initiated when an association representative signs a written grievance and then transmits it to the school district's office of employee relations, to the grievant's immediate supervisor, and to the association. Agreement, section 7-4-1-1. The level-one phase of the grievance process consists of a meeting between the grievant and the immediate supervisor. Id. The meeting must be held within five school days after the written grievance is received by the grievant's supervisor, the office of employee relations, and the association. Id.
Level-two of the grievance process is initiated by the association's filing of a grievance with the school district's office of employee relations. Section 7-4-2-1 of the agreement states that the association "shall file a grievance directly" with that office in the following situations:
A. The grievance affects more than one (1) teacher at more than one (1) school; or
B. The grievance was previously filed at Level One but was not resolved to the satisfaction of the grievant or the Association; or
C. No decision was rendered within five (5) school days of the Level One meeting; or
D. The grievance affects the Association's representative status.
The area superintendent serves as the umpire at a level-two hearing, which must be held within ten school days after receipt of the request for the hearing. Agreement, § 7-4-2-3. The umpire must provide the school district and the association with a written decision and the reasons for the decision within ten days after the hearing. Id. 1
If the association or the grievant is dissatisfied with the level-two disposition, "the Association may, if it deems the grievance meritorious, request a [level-three] hearing before an umpire." Agreement, § 7-4-3-1. The requirement that the association evaluate the merits of a grievance applies only when the grievance has already been determined at a level-two hearing. Id. The level-three process begins when the association files a written request after receipt of the level-two decision. The umpire for the level-three hearing is to be selected from a mutually acceptable list of not less than three nor more than five umpires. Agreement, § 7-4-3-2. Within thirty days from the conclusion of the hearing, the umpire is required to submit a report to the school district and the association. Agreement, § 7-4-3-5. The report must contain "findings of fact, reasoning, conclusions and recommendations, which shall be consistent with law and with the terms of [the] Agreement." Id. The umpire's report, however, is advisory only, and the "final determination of the issues raised by the grievant shall be made by the [school district]." Agreement, § 7-4-3-10.
The above provisions of the collective-bargaining agreement were in effect in 1987, when Denise Shorey began her tenth year of employment with the Jefferson County School District as a library media specialist at Mandalay Junior High School. In October 1987 Shorey applied for a vacant library media specialist position at Standley Lake High School. The principal of the high school selected Shorey for the position, and Shorey received a letter dated November 5, 1987, advising her of her transfer to that position effective on February 16, 1988.
Martha Krenek, who was a teacher at Bell Junior High School in the school district and had been employed by the district for seventeen years, also applied for the same position. When she was not chosen for the position, she requested the association to file a level-one grievance because, in her view, she was as qualified as Shorey and had more seniority. Krenek's grievance was filed with the employee relations office of the school district on November 13, 1987, and was signed by an association representative. Krenek's grievance alleged that the school district, by choosing Shorey for the position, had violated section 34-4-3 of the agreement, which sets forth the following criteria for the selection of a teacher for a voluntary transfer:
A. Individual teacher qualifications.
B. Individual requirements of the open position, as specified in the job requisition.
C. Experience in the teaching field for which application is being made.
D. Proportionate distribution within a given faculty of experienced and inexperienced teachers.
E. When the foregoing are substantially equal, preference in assignment or transfer shall be given to the incumbent applicant with the greatest length of service in the District.
The principal of Standley Lake High School, acting in the capacity of Krenek's immediate supervisor for purposes of the grievance process, did not meet with Krenek on her grievance, but, instead, reviewed Krenek's and Shorey's qualifications as reflected in their personnel files. There is no indication in the record that an association representative participated in, or had the opportunity for any input into, the principal's level-one review. The principal determined that both Krenek and Shorey were equally qualified for the position, but decided to replace Shorey with Krenek because Krenek had the greater length of service with the district. Shorey was accordingly notified by letter that her assignment to the Standley Lake position was in error and that Krenek had been selected for the position.
Shorey thereafter filed a grievance with the office of employee relations on November 30, 1987. Shorey's grievance, which was signed by an association representative, alleged that, pursuant to the selection criteria of section 34-4-3 of the agreement, Shorey was the better qualified candidate. Shorey requested reinstatement to the position or readvertisement of the position under the same job description. A level-one meeting with Shorey was held by the Standley Lake High School principal, acting as Shorey's immediate supervisor. Again, the record does not show that an association representative participated in any manner in the level-one hearing. The principal denied Shorey's grievance, stating only that "[a]fter reviewing the data presented to me, I have decided to deny this grievance."
The association requested a level-two hearing on behalf of Shorey. The superintendent for the north area of the school district served as the umpire at the level-two hearing. The umpire...
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