Rhode Island Council 94 v. State, s. 80-257-A

• Decision Date: 23 February 1983
• Docket Number: Nos. 80-257-A,s. 80-257-A
• Citation: 456 A.2d 771
• Parties: 113 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2572 RHODE ISLAND COUNCIL 94, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Local 314 v. STATE. ppeal, 80-259-Appeal.
• Court: Rhode Island Supreme Court

Page 771

456 A.2d 771

113 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2572

RHODE ISLAND COUNCIL 94, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Local 314 v. STATE.

Nos. 80-257-Appeal, 80-259-Appeal.

Supreme Court of Rhode Island.

Feb. 23, 1983.

Cobleigh, Fleury, Hefner & Watt, Gerard P. Cobleigh, Warwick, for petitioners.

Paul L. Foster, Cranston (Dept. for Children & Their Families), for respondent.

OPINION

SHEA, Justice.

This case was heard in the Superior Court on the state's motion to vacate and the union's application for an order confirming an arbitration award. The arbitration resulted from grievances filed by the union on behalf of three correctional officers who had been dismissed following an investigation of an escape of nine youths from the boys' training school in December 1977. The arbitrator vacated the dismissals and reinstated the employees. After a hearing, a Superior Court justice confirmed the award in regard to one employee but vacated the award in regard to the remaining two employees. The trial justice ruled that just cause existed for disciplinary action against the two, and he remanded the matter back to the arbitrator to determine an appropriate remedy. A second hearing was held upon application for confirmation of the second arbitrator's award made after the remand. The same justice vacated the second award and remanded the case again, ordering arbitration de novo before a different arbitrator. The union appeals from the second order, claiming the reviewing justice exceeded his authority in substituting his judgment for that of the arbitrator. ¹ We agree.

On December 10, 1977, nine inmates escaped from the Youth Correctional Center, a high-security facility for juvenile offenders. Following an investigation of the incident, three youth-correctional officers, Harold Hill, Clarence White, and Wayne Black, were placed on administrative leave with pay, pending an administrative hearing. On December 22, 1977, after a hearing, the three officers were dismissed by the then Director of the Department of Corrections "for malfeasance and nonfeasance in the performance of their duties during the escape." Pursuant to the collective-bargaining agreement in existence between the State and the Rhode Island State Employees Association, the union elected to have this matter submitted for arbitration. The issues presented for arbitration were: (1) was there just cause for the disciplinary action of the state? (2) if so, what was the appropriate remedy?

After a hearing, the arbitrator directed in August 1978 that Officer Hill be reinstated retroactive to December 22, 1977, but that a letter of reprimand be placed in his file to become a permanent part of his personnel record. In the cases of Officers White and Black, he decided they were to be reinstated as of June 20, 1978, and that their records from December 22, 1977, through June 20, 1978, be marked "leave without pay."

The August 1978 award was before the Superior Court upon the state's motion to vacate and the union's motion to confirm the award. In his decision, the trial justice concluded that there was just cause for some disciplinary action in all three cases. He confirmed the award with respect to Hill but vacated that part of the award which pertained to Officers Black and White. The court held that the arbitrator had disregarded the provisions of the agreement between the parties by imposing a punishment of "leave without pay," which was not provided for in the collective-bargaining agreement. The award concerning Black and White was vacated, and the matter was remanded to the arbitrator with directions to conform the remedy to the contract.

The second award by the arbitrator made on remand simply stated:

"Conforming with an order of the Superior Court, M.P. # 12819 dated 21 November 1979 as pertains to Clarence White and Wayne Black and in accordance with the provisions of Article 24 of the bargaining agreement it is directed that they be suspended without pay from December 22, 1977 through June 20, 1978." (Emphasis added.)

This matter was heard again by the same justice of the Superior Court upon application by the union for an order confirming this second arbitration award and upon the state's motion to vacate. After a hearing on March 20, 1980, the court again vacated the arbitrator's award.

"The Court has considered the matter and has made a determination that the arbitrator has again disregarded the contractual provisions. There is nothing in the contract which authorizes the arbitrator to apply a suspension retroactively. The contract speaks in terms of--the Court now refers to Section 24.1, subparagraph 3, with a single word, and the word is 'suspension.' Nothing in the article relating to discipline and discharge remotely hints that that provision can be retroactive. * * * The Court finds, consequently, there has been a manifest disregard of that provision and that the award must be vacated."

An order embodying the court's findings was entered.

Before us the union argues that the hearing justice exceeded his authority in vacating the arbitrator's award.

Judicial authority to review or to vacate arbitration awards is limited. We have held that an arbitration award is the decision of an extrajudicial tribunal by whose judgment the parties have mutually agreed to abide. Jacinto v. Egan, 120 R.I. 907, 911, 391 A.2d 1173, 1175 (1978); Belanger v. Matteson, 115 R.I. 332, 355, 346 A.2d 124, 137-38 (1975). Strong public-policy considerations dictate that a reviewing court's ability to overturn awards should be narrowly circumscribed. ² Therefore, the statutory authority to vacate an arbitration award when an arbitrator exceeds his power "does not authorize a judicial re-examination of the contractual provisions." In fact, we have articulated the standard for reviewing these awards: "Absent a manifest disregard of the contractual provisions, or a completely irrational result, the courts have no authority to vacate the arbitrator's award." Jacinto v. Egan, 120 R.I. at 914, 391 A.2d at 1176; Belanger v. Matteson, 115 R.I. at 356, 346 A.2d at 138. A reviewing court should determine only whether the arbitrator has resolved a grievance by considering the proper sources--"the contract and those circumstances out of which comes the 'common law of the shop'." Jacinto v. Egan, 120 R.I. at 912, 391 A.2d at 1176 (quoting Gorman, Labor Law 585 (1976)). Therefore, under Jacinto, the inquiry becomes whether or not the arbitrator considered the proper sources when fashioning the award, not whether or not he resolved the grievance properly.

The first award of the arbitrator indicates he considered carefully the circumstances surrounding the escape from the training school. The recommendations in the award suggest that both parties bore responsibility for the incident. He found the employees had not behaved responsibly. He also suggested the employer had been lax in maintaining communications between shifts of employees as well as in training the officers. ³ It is apparent that he concluded that since both parties were...