39 N.Y.2d 167 | NY | 1976
The questions posed for our consideration on this appeal are whether an arbitrator may order the temporary reinstatement of a probationary teacher as a remedy for breach of certain procedural guarantees afforded to such a
Petitioner appointed Valerie Merrill to a nontenured position in September, 1970. In March, 1973, she was advised by petitioner that she would not be recommended for tenure, and, in April, 1973, petitioner took formal action denying her tenure. Thus, her employment was scheduled to cease at the termination of her probationary period, June, 1973. Prior to the denial of tenure by petitioner, respondent filed a grievance under its collective bargaining agreement, alleging that Mrs. Merrill was denied tenure on the basis of certain parents’ complaints of which she had never been apprised and which she had not been offered the opportunity to refute, in violation of the collective bargaining agreement. Petitioner rejected the grievance on the ground that subdivision 1 of section 3013 of the Education Law and article XX(A) of the agreement conferred upon petitioner the absolute power to terminate the services of a probatinary teacher. Respondent then demanded arbitration in accordance with the grievance procedure in the contract and petitioner instituted this proceeding to stay arbitration.
Special Term granted the application on the ground that a board of education possesses plenary power to terminate the services of a probationary teacher. The Appellate Division, however, unanimously reversed and held that respondent had a right to maintain an arbitration proceeding to enforce the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement which had allegedly been violated (43 AD2d 706). That court also stated that, if respondent’s claim were meritorious, Mrs. Merrill should be given the opportunity to refute the complaints against her and have any false or slanderous material deleted from her record, irrespective of the fact that petitoner could terminate her employment at will. Upon submission of the dispute to arbitration, the arbitrator found that Mrs. Merrill’s dismissal was based on parents’ complaints and that the "conferences and confrontations” required by the collective bargaining agreement had not been afforded to her. Consequently, he concluded that there had been a violation of the agreement and ruled that the appropriate remedy was reinstatement without tenure for a period of time sufficient to enable petitioner to re-evaluate Mrs. Merrill in accordance with the procedures specified in the agreement after which
Petitioner then moved at Special Term to set aside the award. That court held that the Appellate Division had limited the arbitrator’s remedial powers and that the only remedy available to the arbitrator was the deletion of false and slanderous material from the teacher’s file. The Appellate Division unanimously affirmed, without opinion.
The threshold issue is whether the Appellate Division properly precluded the arbitrator’s award of temporary reinstatement to a nontenured position by its recognition of the fact that "the teacher in question, Mrs. Merrill, could be discharged at will” and "that conclusion could not be altered by the outcome of the desired arbitration proceeding.” (43 AD2d 706.) Petitioner argues that the Appellate Division circumscribed the arbitrator’s remedial powers and, further, that respondent’s acknowledgment of the ultimate power of petitioner to discharge Mrs. Merrill amounts to an admission which bars the arbitrator’s award. Parenthetically, it should be noted that resting unchallenged is the Appellate Division finding that section E of article III, section I of article XVI and section C of article XVII of the collective bargaining agreement combine to afford a teacher the right, with the aid of a representative, to investigate, examine, challenge, dispute and attempt to have deleted from her record, complaints registered against her.
We have repeatedly emphasized that the role of the courts in deciding questions of arbitrability, especially in the labor relations field, is a constricted one and the Legislature itself has provided that a court may not "consider whether the claim with respect to which the arbitration is sought is tenable, or otherwise pass upon the merits of the dispute” (CPLR 7501). Courts are limited to the determination that a dispute within the import of the arbitration agreement exists (see Matter of Long Is. Lbr. Co. [Martin], 15 NY2d 380, 384-385; Matter of Howard & Co. v Daley, 27 NY2d 285, 290). Indeed, we have asserted that public policy prefers arbitration as a device for the resolution of labor controversies and frowns upon judicial attempts to resolve such disputes (Matter of Associated Teachers of Huntington v Board of Educ., Union Free School Dist. No. 3, Town of Huntington, 33 NY2d 229, 236).
Thus, even if the Appellate Division did attempt to restrict
Petitioner also argues, and without merit we think, that the arbitrator’s award violated public policy and, hence, was properly annulled by Special Term. Of course, the arbitrator’s
Accordingly, the order of the Appellate Division should be reversed and the award of the arbitrator reinstated, with costs.
Chief Judge Breitel and Judges Jasen, Jones, Wachtler, Fuchsberg and Cooke concur.
Order reversed, etc.