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PUBLIC LAW BOARD NO. 4070
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Case
No.
4 Award
No.
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PARTIES Brotherhood of Railway, Airline and Steamship Clerk
,:?
to Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employes
DISPUTE:
VS.
Union Pacific System (Western District)
STATEMENT OF
CLAIM:
Reinstatement of Clerk R. E. Stevens to service
and pay for all time lost including March 7,
1985, and clear his personal record of all
charges arising from the investigation conducted
February 26, 1985.
FINDINGS: Subsequent to an investigation held on February 26, 1985,
the Claimant was found guilty of falsely filing job stabilization
forms. The Claimant was a furloughed protected employee receiving
compensation on a monthly basis pursuant to the Job Stabilization
Protective Agreement. From evidence adduced at the investigation,
the Carrier determined that the Claimant did not report income
received from sources other than the Carrier. On the basis of
this finding, it dismissed the Claimant from the service. -
The essential thrust of the Carrier's contentions are that the
Claimant failed to report "compensation received from all other
employment" pursuant to Article IV, Section 6 of the Job Stabilization Agreement. On the job stabilization claim forms filed by the
Claimant, under the column of "outside earnings", he had noted "none".
The Organization advances its claim both on procedural and
substantive grounds. With respect to the former, it mainly contends
that the hearing was not held in a timely manner, and that it was
. Li~o-y
C-4/A-4
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held in a location other than the home terminal. Concerning the
merits, it asserts that the Claimant was not employed, in the
normal sense, because his wife had performed contractual services
for the outside firm and he assisted her when needed.
With respect to the procedural contentions, the Carrier served
notice of the investigation on February 22, 1985. A reasonable
reading of the record indicates that the Carrier acted in a timely
manner in this respect. It is well established, in matters such
as here, that the time limit to provide notice of hearing is triggered
when the alleged violation
or
event causing the advancement of charges
becomes known to the Carrier in a substantive manner. With respect
to the location of the hearing, Rule 45, which is controlling in
this instance, is permissive in that the hearing shall be conducted
at the employee's home terminal "when possible". The Carrier had
reasonable grounds for not holding the hearing at the home terminal
and, consequently, the Claimant's rights were not violated.
Turning to the merits, the Claimant (a protected employee
under the Job Stabilization Agreement) basically argues that he
assisted his wife and, accordingly, this activity alone does not
constitute a bona fide employment, as normally understood and
accepted. Therefore, he did not report his "outside" income to
the Carrier.
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The record before the Board sets forth that the Claimant,
during the period at issue, was compensated for work performed
for a second party. At the least, an inquiry to his employer as
to the propriety of his decision not to report the monies he
received was in order. _
Accordingly, it is our considered judgment that under the
circumstances prevalent herein, the dismissal penalty should be
modified. In this regard, the Board, among other considerations,
notes the Claimant's clear past record and that progressive
disciplinary measures were not applied. Therefore, we conclude
that the time out of service from March 7, 1985 until August 1,
1986 is more commensurate with the violation under the circum
stances. This amount of time is based on
a
calculation of the
amount of money the Claimant would have been paid during this period
under his furloughed protected status and a comparison of this amount
with the amount of monies improperly received by him.
AWARD
As specified in the Findings.
L. A. Lambert ~c ehard Auessig C. ~. olema
Carrier-Member Chairman Employee Me er
Dated: _