The impartial Board of Collective Bargaining recently expanded union members’ representation rights in disciplinary cases. In a reversal of its long-held position that denied so-called Weingarten rights to public employees, the BCB ruled that a public worker has the right to request union representation at any agency interview that the employee reasonably believes may result in disciplinary action by the employer.

The Feb. 26 BCB decision applies the federal Weingarten rule, which gives employees in the private sector the protection of union representation at such interviews, to municipal employees.

“The recent BCB decision strengthens the union rights and protections outlined in the Citywide Contract. It provides an additional layer of protection for every unionized city employee regardless of civil service status,” said DC 37 Associate General Counsel Eddie Demmings.

“It’s important that the decision covers any investigative hearing or meeting, including one conducted by a supervisor. The union would file an improper practice charge should that right be denied,” Mr. Demmings explained. The Weingarten rule considers it “a serious violation of the employee’s individual right to seek the assistance of a union representative if the employer denies the employee’s request and compels the employee to appear unassisted in an interview that may put his job security in jeopardy.”

The rule gives employees the right to have their union rep physically present during any interview that may lead to discipline such as suspension, loss of pay or termination.

The BCB decision came a year after the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association filed an improper practice charge contending that one of its members, a Deputy Warden, was denied union representation at a DOC interview with her supervisor. The three-hour interview resulted in an unpaid one-week suspension for the employee, which ultimately was reduced to suspension with pay.

Fearing further disciplinary action, she called COBA, which filed the charge with the Office of Collective Bargaining.

“This decision speaks to the essence of being in a union,” said Mr. Demmings: “Should management come after you, you are not alone.”

— DSW