Portage Cty. Bd. of Dev. Disabilities v. Portage Cty. Educators' Assn. for Dev. Disabilities
2017 Ohio 888
| Ohio Ct. App. | 2017Background
- The Portage County Board of Developmental Disabilities (Board) hired Patricia Byttner as an Account Clerk 1 in 2008; the job description given at hire depicted a clerical office role.
- After hiring, Byttner occasionally filled in as a substitute bus driver/aide; she later objected due to knee/back issues and disputed that driving was part of her job.
- In 2012 the Board amended the Account Clerk 1 job description to add a requirement to serve as vehicle operator/attendant as needed; the Association grieved on Byttner’s behalf.
- An arbitrator sustained the grievance in part, directing removal of the added designated duty as an arbitrary expansion of a clerical classification, but denied relief insofar as Byttner had previously volunteered to fill in and could be required on an emergency/temporary basis unless medically excused.
- The Board sought vacatur in the trial court, which vacated the award as exceeding the arbitrator’s authority; the Association appealed.
- The appellate court reversed, holding the arbitrator’s interpretation was a reasonable construction of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and the award drew its essence from the CBA.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (Board) | Defendant's Argument (Association) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether arbitrator exceeded authority by limiting Board’s ability to add bus duties to Account Clerk 1 | Arbitrator departed from express CBA language and imposed limits not in contract | Arbitrator reasonably construed ambiguous CBA to require increases be related to existing clerical duties | Held for Association: arbitrator did not exceed authority; award draws its essence from CBA |
| Whether unilateral addition of driving duties violated Section 7.C.1 (increase-in-duties provision) | Board says it may increase job duties once per 12 months without the arbitrator’s added reasonableness constraint | Association says adding non-clerical driving duties was arbitrary and beyond permissible increase | Held for Association: adding substantially different duties was arbitrary and not within ordinary scope of a clerical increase |
| Whether arbitral remedy (remove designated duty) improperly modified the CBA | Board contends remedy alters contract terms in violation of arbitration clause | Association contends remedy enforces parties’ agreement and job-description protections | Held for Association: remedy enforced a reasonable reading of the CBA and did not conflict with express terms |
| Standard of review for vacatur under R.C. 2711.10(D) | Trial court applied vacatur, finding excess of power | Association argues limited statutory review requires deferring to arbitrator when award has rational nexus to CBA | Held: appellate court applied statutory standard and reversed vacatur, restoring deference to arbitrator |
Key Cases Cited
- Findlay City School Dist. Bd. of Edn. v. Findlay Edn. Assn., 49 Ohio St.3d 129 (1990) (courts must favor arbitration and indulge every reasonable intendment to uphold awards)
- Mahoning Cty. Bd. of Mental Retardation v. Mahoning Cty. TMR Edn. Assn., 22 Ohio St.3d 80 (1986) (policy favoring arbitration)
- Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Auth. v. Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 627, 91 Ohio St.3d 108 (2001) (award must draw its essence from the CBA; rational nexus test)
- Ohio Office of Collective Bargaining v. Ohio Civil Serv. Employees Assn., Local 11, AFSCME, 59 Ohio St.3d 177 (1991) (arbitrator confined to interpreting/applying the CBA; award must be consistent with express contract provisions)
- Hillsboro v. Fraternal Order of Police, Ohio Labor Council, Inc., 52 Ohio St.3d 174 (1990) (where contract provision admits more than one reasonable interpretation, arbitrator’s interpretation governs)