Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen v. Union Pacific Railroad Co.

Union Pacific Railroad hired Griff in the mid-1980s. Griff was promoted from locomotive engineer to management but was fired in 2013 when the railroad discovered that he had falsified safety and training documentation. Griff argued that he was entitled to a hearing under a collective-bargaining agreement (CBA) between Union Pacific and his union. The railroad responded that the agreement did not provide a hearing for supervisory employees. The National Railroad Adjustment Board (45 U.S.C. 153) denied the claim, reasoning that it had already resolved similar disputes between the parties and that nothing in the specific CBA required a different outcome: Griff was not entitled to a pretermination hearing because he was a supervisory employee. The Seventh Circuit affirmed and awarded sanctions under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 38. The union’s arguments are facially untenable and fly in the face of clear precedent. The Board had authority to decide this dispute and properly did so. View "Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen v. Union Pacific Railroad Co." on Justia Law