Opinion ID: 2075769
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Bright Case

Text: Leroy Bright was a MABSTOA bus driver for over 20 years. On June 11, 1999, his bus struck and injured a pedestrian. He was suspended without pay (effective that day) in contemplation of dismissal. Appellant Transport Workers Union invoked the grievance/arbitration procedure of the collective bargaining agreement on his behalf, and a hearing was held before a single arbitrator. Following the hearing, the arbitrator, on October 25, 1999, issued an award. The arbitrator rejected Bright's exculpatory version of the accident and sustained the charge that he caused a preventable accident. The arbitrator, however, declined to impose the ultimate penalty of dismissal, instead ordering reinstatement without back pay and declaring that the disposition was to serve as a final warning that a similar violation would put Bright at risk of termination. On the petition of NYCTA and MABSTOA, Supreme Court vacated the arbitrator's award insofar as it reduced the sanction from dismissal to a suspension without pay, on the ground that it was against the public policy embodied in Public Authorities Law § 1204 (15). The Appellate Division affirmed (280 AD2d 677).