Kier v. County of Hall, 30 Neb. Ct. App. 1

Melissa Kier, a Hall County deputy sheriff, and Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #10 (FOP #10) were governed by successive collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) that included an annual seniority-based shift-bidding process and an Article III reserving management rights to the Sheriff, including the right to transfer employees.
After Kier moved to night shift in Aug. 2018, the Department documented repeated performance deficiencies and issued reprimands; supervisors decided in May 2019 to transfer her to day shift for better supervision and structure.
In the June 2019 rebid prompted by a vacancy, Sheriff Rick Conrad told Kier to limit her rebid to day-shift positions and instructed FOP #10 to place her in a day slot regardless of seniority; Kier and FOP #10 filed a grievance.
The Hall County Sheriff’s Department Merit Commission heard the grievance, concluded Conrad could not bar Kier from bidding by seniority (ordered an immediate rebid and removal of the letter from her file), but held the Sheriff retained authority to transfer deputies between shifts under the Commission’s regulations.
The district court affirmed the Merit Commission’s decision; Kier and FOP #10 appealed. The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding the CBA’s management-rights clause (and its 30-day notice requirement) granted the Sheriff authority to transfer shifts and rendered consideration of the Merit Commission regulations unnecessary.

Issue	Kier / FOP #10 Argument	Conrad / Hall County Argument	Held
Whether the CBA’s shift-bidding provision prevents the Sheriff from transferring an employee between shifts based on performance	The shift-bidding provisions (read as a whole) bar the Sheriff from disregarding an employee’s chosen shift due to performance; management rights are limited by other CBA terms	Article III reserves unspecified management rights to the Sheriff, including the right to transfer employees; transfer procedure (30 days’ notice) is in the CBA	Court held the Sheriff retains the right to transfer deputies between shifts under Article III, subject to the CBA’s 30-day notice; this does not nullify the shift-bid process
Whether the Merit Commission’s regulations preempt or invalidate the CBA shift-bid terms or exceed the Commission’s authority	The Merit Commission lacked authority to apply its regulations to limit the shift-bid provisions and its rules cannot bar contracting on shift bids	Merit Commission applied its regulations to confirm the Sheriff may transfer deputies between shifts; but the Court need not decide the validity of the regulations if the CBA itself grants transfer authority	Court did not decide the regulation-validity question because it found the CBA itself granted the Sheriff transfer authority; Merit Commission decision affirmed as to ordering rebid and recognizing Sheriff’s transfer power

Douglas County v. Archie, 295 Neb. 674, 891 N.W.2d 93 (standard for reviewing administrative decisions and arbitrary-and-capricious review)
Bierman v. Benjamin, 305 Neb. 860, 943 N.W.2d 269 (principles for determining contractual ambiguity and use of extrinsic evidence)
AVG Partners I v. Genesis Health Clubs, 307 Neb. 47, 948 N.W.2d 212 (appellate courts need not decide issues unnecessary to disposition)
Equestrian Ridge v. Equestrian Ridge Estates II, 308 Neb. 128, 953 N.W.2d 16 (contracts must be construed as a whole and given reasonable effect)