Northwest Airlines, Inc. v. Air Line Pilots Ass'n, Intern.
| Decision Date | 06 January 1987 |
| Docket Number | No. 85-6228,85-6228 |
| Citation | 808 F.2d 76,257 U.S.App.D.C. 181 |
| Parties | 124 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2300, 257 U.S.App.D.C. 181, 55 USLW 2436, 106 Lab.Cas. P 12,235 NORTHWEST AIRLINES, INC. v. AIR LINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION, INTERNATIONAL, Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit |
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (Civil Action No. 84-03434).
Eugene B. Granof, with whom Gary Green, Washington, D.C., was on the brief for appellant.
William R. Stein, with whom Philip A. Lacovara and Patricia A. Dean, Washington, D.C., were on the brief for appellee.
Before EDWARDS and BORK, Circuit Judges, and SWYGERT, * Senior Circuit Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Opinion for the Court filed by Circuit Judge HARRY T. EDWARDS.
In August 1982, following an alcohol-related incident, officials at Northwest Airlines, Inc. ("Northwest") discharged First Officer Larry Morrison. Subsequently, pursuant to a grievance filed by the Air Line Pilots Association ("ALPA"), a panel of the Northwest Airline System Board of Adjustment (the "Board") issued an arbitration award finding that, because the pilot was suffering from alcoholism, Northwest's discharge of Morrison was without "just cause" under the terms of the Northwest-ALPA collective bargaining agreement. The Board ruled that Morrison should be offered reinstatement, without back pay or benefits, upon certification by the Federal Air Surgeon that Morrison had recovered from the effects of his alcoholism, including total abstinence from alcohol for not less than two years. Morrison successfully completed an alcohol rehabilitation program and was thereafter recertified by the Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") in 1985.
In 1985, Northwest filed a complaint in District Court seeking to set aside the Board's arbitration award. The District Court issued a summary judgment for Northwest, finding that the Board's award was inconsistent with public policy. ALPA now seeks review of the trial court's judgment, contending that the District Court acted in excess of its authority in overturning the Board's arbitration award. Because we find that the District Court had no valid basis upon which to set aside the Board's award, and because we hold that the trial court's decision is plainly at odds with well-established Supreme Court precedent and with this court's recent decision in American Postal Workers Union v. United States Postal Service, 789 F.2d 1 (D.C.Cir.1986), we reverse.
Generally, a labor arbitration award must be enforced if the arbitrator acts within the confines of his jurisdiction and his award draws its essence from the parties' collective bargaining agreement; this is so even when a reviewing court disagrees with the arbitrator's judgment on the merits. In some limited circumstances, an arbitration award may be set aside if it is found to be violative of "public policy." However, as we made clear in Postal Workers, "judges have no license to impose their own brand of justice in determining applicable public policy; thus, the exception applies only when the public policy emanates from clear statutory or case law, 'not from general considerations of supposed public interests.' " Id. at 8 (emphasis in original). There can be no doubt that the Board's award in the instant case does not require the invocation of a public policy exception; therefore, the District Court had no authority to substitute its judgment for that of the parties' lawfully designated arbitration panel. Accordingly, the District Court's order is hereby vacated and the case remanded with instructions to enter judgment in favor of the Air Line Pilots Association.
Prior to his discharge, First Officer Larry Morrison had been with Northwest for sixteen years and had a theretofore unblemished disciplinary record. Morrison was dismissed by Northwest on August 6, 1982, after he was discovered piloting a Northwest flight within twenty-four hours after consuming alcohol. Morrison had been drinking during a thirty-hour stopover between flights and then had become ill three hours before his next scheduled flight. He asked to be replaced on his scheduled flight; however, after being informed that no replacements were available, Morrison agreed to serve as copilot for the first two legs of the flight, provided that he could be replaced on the final leg. At the first stopover, in San Francisco, Northwest officials insisted that Morrison submit to a blood test, which showed Morrison's blood alcohol level to be at .13%. Under California law, a blood alcohol level of .10% creates a presumption of intoxication, 1 and FAA regulations prohibit any person from serving as a crew member with a blood alcohol level of .04% or more. 2
Northwest investigated the incident, and discharged Morrison for violating company regulations prohibiting the consumption of alcohol within twenty-four hours of flight duty, and for being under the influence of alcohol during the flight. Northwest prohibits crew members from using alcoholic beverages during the twenty-four-hour period immediately preceding the departure time of a flight to which that person has been assigned. 3 Violation of the rule may be grounds for discharge. 4 Northwest does, however, allow reformed alcoholics to be pilots. 5
Morrison admitted to Northwest officials that he had a ten-year history of drinking, but until the incident of August 1, 1982, he had never sought treatment for his drinking problem, fearing that he would be discharged. He also admitted that he had probably violated the twenty-four-hour rule in the past. Immediately after being discharged by Northwest, Morrison successfully completed a comprehensive alcohol treatment program and has not consumed alcohol since.
A grievance was filed before the Board to determine whether Northwest's discharge of Morrison was for just cause, and, if not, what the appropriate remedy should be. During a two-day arbitration hearing, the parties attested that the matter was properly before the Board; the parties were then afforded full opportunity to offer evidence and argument and to present, examine and cross-examine witnesses. After considering the evidence before it and reviewing post-hearing briefs, the Board issued a written opinion, holding that the discharge was without just cause and that Morrison should be offered reinstatement, without back pay or benefits, at such time as the Federal Air Surgeon certified that he met the standards of 14 C.F.R. Sec. 67.13(d)(1)(i)(c) (1986). 6 Morrison was certified by the FAA on September 13, 1985. 7
In reaching its decision, the Board considered and rejected several less severe remedies. For example, as of January 10, 1984, the FAA Federal Air Surgeon had declared Morrison to be eligible for a special issuance of a first-class medical certificate. 8 This would have permitted him to pilot commercial aircraft so long as he received periodic reports from Northwest, ALPA and his physician indicating that he had abstained from drinking alcohol. However, the Board declined to order Northwest to conditionally reinstate Morrison, insisting that Morrison meet the more stringent standard embodied in 14 C.F.R. Sec. 67.13(d)(1)(i)(c).
The Board also declined to award any fringe benefits, including sick leave and medical leave, back pay or accumulation of longevity during Morrison's period of rehabilitation. It did so, in part, in recognition of the safety-related goals of the twenty-four-hour rule. 9 The Board took pains to point out that its decision 10 Thus, the Board's ruling was limited to the facts before it and was not a rejection of the twenty-four-hour rule. The Board concluded its decision as follows:
Inasmuch as the Federal Air Surgeon has the statutory authority to make [medical fitness] determinations and must do so with the highest regard for air safety, the Chairman is of the opinion that the award herein is consistent with public policy and within the Board's authority to make. 11
Northwest filed a complaint in the District Court seeking to set aside the award. ALPA responded by seeking enforcement of the award. On cross-motions for summary judgment, the District Court held for Northwest. 12 The trial court viewed the case as placing two federal policies in conflict. On the one hand, the trial judge recognized that there is a clear federal policy in favor of resolving labor disputes through arbitration. 13 However, the judge saw the Board's award as inconsistent with the federal duty imposed on airlines to ensure airline safety. The court held that the remedy arrived at by the Board impermissibly impinged on Northwest's duty to ensure air safety. 14 The District Court apparently gave no credence to the fact that the parties' agreement to arbitrate does not exclude safety-related grievances. Indeed, even though the parties' collective bargaining agreement plainly gives the Board the authority to review all employee dismissals, and to mitigate disciplinary penalties found to be without just cause, the trial judge inexplicably thought that the better course would be to leave Northwest free to implement its safety policy. 15 ALPA now contends that the District Court acted in excess of its authority in substituting its judgment for that of the Board.
There are two principal issues in this case: (1) whether the Board had the authority to consider whether Northwest had "just cause" to dismiss Morrison and (2) whether the Board's decision, if within its jurisdiction,...
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MATTER OF CHROMALLOY AEROSERVICES (ARAB REPUBLIC)
...have no license to impose their own brand of justice in determining applicable public policy." Northwest Airlines Inc. v. Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l, 808 F.2d 76, 78 (D.C.Cir.1987). Correctly understood, "Public policy emanates only from clear statutory or case law, `not from genera......
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