Title: County of Berks, et al v. Intl. Brotherhood of Teamsters (Summary Disposition)
Citation: N/A
Docket Number: 429, PET - NO. 396 MAL 2008
State: Pennsylvania
Issuer: Pennsylvania Supreme Court
Date: February 19, 2009

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA MIDDLE DISTRICT COUNTY OF BERKS AND BERKS COUNTY BOARD OF INSPECTORS OF THE COUNTY PRISON, Respondents v. INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS LOCAL UNION NO. 429 Petitioner : : : : : : : : : : : : : : No. 396 MAL 2008 Petition for Allowance of Appeal from the Order of the Commonwealth Court at No. 1230 CD 2007 dated May 5, 2008 Reversing and Vacating the order of Berks County Court of Common Pleas at No. 07- 1619 dated May 30, 2007. ORDER PER CURIAM DECIDED: February 18, 2009 AND NOW, this 18th day of February 2009, the Petition for Allowance of Appeal is GRANTED. Because the finding of the arbitrator that Respondents failed to establish just cause for the suspension of the prison guards was rationally derived from the parties’ collective bargaining agreement, it was entitled to deference under the “Essence Test” as reaffirmed by our Court most recently in Westmoreland Intermediate v. Westmoreland (PSEA), 939 A.2d 855 (Pa. 2007). The order of the Commonwealth Court overturning the arbitrator’s award is hereby REVERSED. See Office of the Attorney General v. Council 13, AFSCME, 844 A.2d 1217 (Pa. 2004) (holding that where just cause is undefined by the terms of a collective bargaining agreement, in order to determine whether an employer had just cause to discipline an employee, an arbitrator may properly examine a variety of factors involving the nature of the existing employment relationship and the particular circumstances surrounding the disciplinary action taken). Mr. Justice Saylor files a Dissenting Statement joined by Justice Eakin and Justice Baer.