Public Employee Press

Arbiter orders HRA to pay for out-of-title “extras”

Julio Feliciano’s desk is an oasis of methodical organization in a workplace where chaos seems to reign. Burgeoning case files are piled on desks and chairs as the caseloads they represent weigh down the workers, who struggle to keep up with the demand for their essential services.

Mr. Feliciano, an Eligibility Specialist in the HIV/AIDS Services Administration at the Knightsbridge Center in the Bronx, has worked for the Human Resources Administration for 15 years.

When management requested that he perform additional tasks, he complied. “You come to work every day and do everything you’re asked to do, plus all the extras that aren’t part of your job,” he explained.

“At first, you do it as a favor. Then it becomes expected.” A member of Clerical-Administrative Employees Local 1549, Mr. Feliciano filed an out-of-title-work grievance in September 2002 with his union rep, Alpine James. “The agency violated Mr. Feliciano’s contractual rights. We had to take the issue all the way to arbitration,” said Ms. James.

Clerical Division Director Ronnie Harris testified at the arbitration. “We have a contract that governs out-of-title work,” he explained. “Both the member and Ms. James deserve credit for enforcing the contract,” he said.

February victory
In February, the arbitrator awarded Mr. Feliciano the difference between his pay as an ES III and the salary rate for the Principal Administrative Assistant title. The award covers the two-year period between Sept. 2002 and June 2004.

Now Mr. Feliciano is looking forward to investing the windfall in his home on Story Avenue in the Bronx.
Ms. James has this advice for other union members: “If it looks, smells and feels like a grievance, file it!”