NCJ Number
94477
Date Published
1982
Length
150 pages
Annotation
This guide outlines acceptable or unacceptable labor practices for corrections employees and their grievances and delineates major arbitration and court cases underlying these conclusions.
Abstract
A review of major sources of corrections employees' rights covers constitutional rights, Federal statutes, Federal guidelines, State statutes, and local charters, ordinances, and regulations. It emphasizes that these rights are present with or without a grievance procedure and must be observed by administrators. The guide then focuses on the major area that provokes grievances: how to establish and enforce work rules and discipline. Specific topics reviewed include disciplinary interviews, evidentiary concerns in a discipline case, penalties, timeliness of disciplinary action, and common reasons for disciplinary action. This section also examines other common grievances, such as seniority, layoffs, promotions, wages, and working conditions. A chapter on arbitration addresses selecting an arbitrator, the arbitrator's authority, determining arbitrability, the burden of proof in arbitration, and the precedent value of awards. The guide explores ways that managers often can defuse potential grievances and help smooth employee relations, how inmate grievances spur employee grievances, and future trends in corrections employees' grievance mechanisms. Footnotes are supplied for each chapter.