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Form 1 NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD Award No. 9126
SECOND DIVISION Docket No. 8731
2-BN-CM-182
The Second Division consisted of the regular members and in
addition Referee John J. Mikrut, Jr. when award was rendered.
( Brotherhood Railway Carmen of the United States
Parties to Dispute:
( and Canada
(
( Burlington Northern Railroad Company
Dispute: Claim of Employes:
1. That the Carrier violated our current agreement when on January 26,
1979 they unjustly dismissed Apprentice Carman Denise Metcalfe from
the Carrier's service.
2. That, accordingly, Carman Apprentice Denise Metcalfe be made whole,
restored to service with all seniority rights, vacation rights, sick
leave benefits, and all other benefits that are a condition of employ
ment and further, be compensated for all wages lost, commencing
January 26, 1979 and continuing until returned to service.
Findings:
The Second Division of the Adjustment Board, upon the whole record and all
the evidence, finds that:
The carrier or carriers and the employe or employes involved in this dispute
are respectively carrier and employe within the meaning of the Railway Labor Act
as approved June 21, 193+.
This Division of the Adjustment Board has jurisdiction over the dispute
involved herein.
Parties to said dispute waived right of appearance at hearing thereon.
Claimant was hired as an apprentice carman on September 18, 1978, at
Carrier's Gavin Yard car repair facility in Minot, South Dakota.
Sometime late in 1978 and early 1979, a special undercover investigation
was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation at the Minot Air Force
Base for the purpose of attempting to solve the theft of approximately $10,000
worth of U.S. Government issue cold weather gear. As a result of said
investigation, Claimant was implicated in the matter and was questioned by
the federal investigators at which time she allegedly "... admitted her
involvement and tendered a signed confession". Thereupon, Carrier initiated
its own investigation and, while in the process of conducting same, it was
discovered that Claimant "... had been arrested and charged with delivery of
a controlled substance in April of 1978 and had pled guilty to the charge ...
was sentenced to 18 months of imprisonment and placed an probation".
Form 1 Award No. 9126
Page 2 Docket No.
8731
2-BN-CM-182
In addition to the foregoing Carrier further discovered that Claimant
had not included any reference to the April incident on the employment
application from which she had completed when applying for employment with
Carrier.
In correspondence dated January 26, 1979, Claimant was notified by General
Foreman G. L. McNeil that effective that date her
"...
application for employment
with (Carrier) is hereby declined
..."
Carrier maintains that said letter was
personally delivered to Claimant by Foreman McNeil and Special Agent Ness on
that same day; and that, while in the process of delivering same, Foreman
McNeil advised Claimant that
"...
her application for employment as a Carman
apprentice was disapproved for falsifying information thereon and that she had
not successfully completed her probationary period under the apprenticeship
program". .
On February 28, 1979, Organization's Local Chairman submitted a time claim
on Claimant's behalf contending that Carrier's termination of Claimant was
arbitrary and thus improper, and in violation of Rules 35(a), 35 (b), 36 and
38 (c). Said claim, however, for reasons which will be developed more fully
hereinafter, was declined by Carrier. Subsequently, on April 11, 1979,
Organization's Local Chairman requested an investiigation of the matter as per
Rule 36, but said claim was similarly declined by Carrier and is now the basis
of the instant proceeding.
Organization's basic position herein is that Claimant had worked in excess
of 60 days as a Carman apprentice and thus, as specified in Rule 36, her application for employment was approved. Continuing on, organization further maintains
that having approved Claimant's employment application, Rule 35(a) provides
that such an employe
"... will
not be disciplined or dismissed until after a
fair and impartial investigation has been held"; and still yet further,
Organization additionally posits that Carrier's January 26, 1979 letter to
Claimant was not in proper compliance with Rule 35(b) since said letter failed
to inform Claimant of the specific reason for which her employment application
was being declined.
In support of this position, Organization maintains that: (1) Claimant did
not give false information on her work application form and that Carrier has
failed to prove this charge (First Division Award 20471; Second Division Award
1157; and Third Division Awards 14479 and 15+12); (2) Carrier's allegation that
Claimant had falsified her application form was not made until March 16, 1979,
when Superintendent specified said charge in his letter to Local Chairman;
(3) since Carrier did not indicate until March 16, 1979, that the basis of the
charge against Claimant was her alleged making of false statements on her
employment application form, there was no need for Claimant and/or organization
to call for an investigation until that time; and
(4)
Carrier violated Rule 36
by refusing Claimant the right to have an investigation when such was requested
by the Local Chairman.
Form 1 Award No.9126
Page 3 Docket No. 8731
2-BN-CM-182
Carrier, from the outset of its argumentation, charges that Claimant
falsified information on her employment application form and that said
"...
application was disproved in complete compliance with Rule 36 of the Agreement
and due to Claimant's failure to avail herself of the specific recourse set out
in Rule 36, she caanot (sic) properly pursue this claim. In support of this
position, Carrier argues that: (I) Claimant's application was disapproved in
writing although the applicable Rules do not require such; (2) said Rules additionally do not require that Carrier reveal its reasons for declining such an
application; and
(3)
said Rule
"...
plainly provided that the 'applicant' may be
dismissed even if the discovery that she submitted false information does not
take place until after the sixty day period" as specified therein (Second
Division Award 6877).
Continuing on, Carrier next asserts that even though Rule 36 does not
require that Carrier give any reason for disapproving an employe's employment
application, Claimant was specifically informed by Foreman McNeil that her
application was disapproved for falsification of information thereon when he
and Special Investigator Ness personally delivered the dismissal letter to her
on January 26, 1979. Carrier further contends that there could not or should
not have been any doubt on Claimant's part at that time as to the reason for
Carrier's declination because
"...
after an employe has been in service more
than
60
days, such as Claimant has been, there is but a single reason for the
Carrier disapproving an application -- falsification of information on the
app licatican" .
The next major area of argumentation proffered by Carrier herein is that
Claimant erred by not requesting a formal investigation of this matter until
after Organization had filed a claim -- which itself was premature -- on
Claimant's behalf. According to Carrier, having specifically negotiated the
right to dismiss an employe for falsification of information on the employment
application form after the
60
day period, it (Carrier)
"...
had no obligation
to afford the Claimant an investigation on its own initiative; (and) that
obligation would have arisen only if the Claimant had requested an investigation".
Therefore, Carrier, in summary, maintains that since Claimant failed to request
an investigation of the disapproval of her employment application, as is
required by Rule 36, this failure
"...
terminated the Carrier's responsibility
in this case and this Board should not consider any issues raised beyond this
point".
The Board has carefully read and studied the complete record which has
been presented in the instant case and can find no good reason either in fact
or in substance which would warrant or justify any modification of the penalty
which has been assessed. Given that Second Division Award 6877 appears to
have resolved test, if not all of the critical issues which are involved in
the instant claim, and further given that said claim clearly has not been
progressed in proper compliance with the parties' negotiated complaint procedure,
these facts alone are sufficient to support Carrier's position as presented.
Form 1
Pa ge
4
Award No. 9126
Docket No. 8731
2-BN-CM-182
Despite Organization is argumentation to the contrary, Referee Weston's
decision in Second Division Award
6877
cited hereinabave authorizes that
"...
the 'applicant` may be dismissed even if the discovery that she submitted
false information does not take place until after the sixty day period".
Additionally, as per Rule
36
itself, the disputed phrase,
"...
if he so desires",
can only be interpreted to mean that if Claimant believes that Carrier has
improperly declined her employment applination, then it is Claimant's
responsibility, if
sMe so
desires, to take appropriate action and initiate
proceedings for the investigation of this matter. Having failed from the outset
to initiate proceedings until
75
days after her employment application had
already been disapproved, which was also some 42 days after the formal complaint
had previously been filed on Claimant's behalf by Organization and denied by
Carrier, any subsequent actions which might have taken place in this matter were
clearly unnecessary and inconsequential at that point by virtue of having been
compromised and thus foreclosed to any further consideration by Carrier due to
Claimant's actions or lack thereof.
A W A R D
Claim denied.
Attest: Acting Executive Secretary
National Railroad Adjustment Board
By
-s rv¢.
marie Brasch
Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 16th day of June, 1982.
NATIONAL RA IIROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
By Order of Second Division
Administrative Assistant