PUBLIC LAW BOARD
NO.
3845
PARTIES TO THE DISPUTE
Brotherhood of Maintenance of )
Way Employees )
and ) Case No. 8
Award No. 8
Norfolk and Western Railway )
Company (Lake Region) )
STATEMENT OF CLAIM
"Claim of the System Committee of the Brotherhood that:
(1) The dismissal of M.E. Zeis for alleged conduct
unbecoming an employe was without just and sufficient cause.
(Organization File: MW-MUN-83-35J.
(2) Claimant M.E. Zeis shall be reinstated to service,
seniority and all other rights unimpaired and compensated for all
wage loss suffered by him".
OPINION
OF THE BOARD
Claimant was employed as Extra Ganq Laborer with
Carrier. On March 12, 1982, while in furloughed status, Claimant
entered a plea before the Benton Circuit Court, County of Benton,
State of Indiana, of guilty to the charge, inter alia, of
possessing less than thirty grams of marijuana.
PLB #3845 Awd. #$
After an agreed-upon postponement, an investigation was
held on August 2, 1983, to determine whether Claimant was guilty
of conduct unbecoming an employee. Although notified of the
investigation Claimant did not attend that hearing and the
organization's request for a further postponement was denied.
Carrier dismissed Claimant from service an August 17, 1983.
Carrier's Rule 1714 is as follows:
The conduct of any employee leading to
conviction of any felony, or of any
misdemeanor involving the unlawful use,
possession, transportation, or distribution
of narcotics or dangerous drugs, or of any
misdemeanor involving moral turpitude is
prohibited.
There was substantial evidence adduced at the hearing
that Claimant violated that Rule. While it is true that the
offense which Benton County, Indiana classifies as a Class D
Felony is only a misdemeanor in most other jurisdictions in the
United States, Claimant's dismissal here is not based on his
possession of a small amount of-marijuana but on his conviction
for such unlawful possession. While it is also true that
marijuana is not a narcotic, it is, like alcohol, a dangerous
drug. Claimant's conviction by the Benton County Circuit Court,
therefore, constitutes an automatic violation of Rule 1714 which,
given Carrier's consistently strict interpretation of that Rule,
justifies dismissal in the instant case.
As to Claimant's non-attendance at the hearing on the
matter, this Board finds no violation of due process in the
absence of evidence that he was unable to attend through no fault
of his own.
_ 2 _
PLB #3845
AWARD
Claim denied.
E.T.- rbert, Neutral Member
r
S.C. Lyons, Carr! Member
H.G. Harper; Employe Member
~el