Court Opinion

ID: 9758397
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 23:27:14.101104+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:28:50.772687
License: Public Domain

DISSENTING OPINION BY
Senior Judge KELLEY.
I respectfully dissent. While I believe that the arbitrator has the authority to resolve matters regarding the hourly wage paid to court personnel, I do not believe that the arbitrator has the authority to infringe upon the judiciary’s authority to determine work hours or the length of the work day. By mandating that the extra one-half hour of compensation be attributed to the one-half hour lunch period, the arbitrator infringed upon the judiciary’s right to supervise its employees. If an employee is being paid for eight hours of work, when those eight hours will be performed is purely within the discretion of the judiciary and cannot be dictated through an arbitration award. To hold otherwise goes against the well settled principle that the judiciary has an inherent right to regulate its employees in order to ensure the continued function of the court system. See L.J.S. v. State Ethics Commission, 744 A.2d 798 (Pa.Cmwlth.2000). Accordingly, I would affirm the order of the trial court granting the petition to vacate the award of the interest arbitration panel.