Case: Labor Arbitration/Discharge (Arb.)

Multnomah County didn’t have just cause to suspend and terminate the grievant for allegedly contravening personnel rules through unprofessional and racially discriminatory behavior towards Black colleagues, Arbitrator Shianne Scott held. The grievant—a woman who identifies as an indigenous Puerto Rican and who is a protected class member herself—was denied due process due to the county’s failure to timely provide a final report before her suspension, an action which relied primarily on hearsay, lacked specificity, and contained unproven allegations. Because of the county’s unsubstantiated assumption that the grievant’s answers on a work form constituted retaliation against her superiors, it failed to ...