PARTIES Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees
 TO . . .
 DISPUTE: and
 New Jersey Transit Rail Operations
 STATEMENT The ten-day suspension administered to B&B Mechanic,
 'OF
 CLAIM: - J. A. Aronis is unjust and unsupported by evidence.
 Claimant Aronis shall be exonerated and paid for
 wages lost as result of the suspension;.his record
 shaii be cleared of any related entries.
 FINDINGS: The record contains substantial credible evidence
 .that claimant left his place of work at 1 p.m., 2J
 hours before his regular quitting time;.the evidence
 also establishes that he left the site without per
 ' mission of competent authority. '
 Claimant-was working in a four-man gang on the day
 in question and assumed that one of the three other employees, Bill
 Capik, could give him permission to leave early. Mr. Capik "dropped"
 claimant off at the train station at 1 p.m. when claimant requested
 him to do so on the ground that he was not feeling well.
 There is no evidence that claimant was actually ill that day or that any emergency warranted his leaving work at
' Award No. 1

 ' Case No. 1
 1 p.m. rather than at.3:30 p.m., his scheduled quitting time. Nor
 is there any proof that Mr. Capik had authority to give employees
 time off or that claimant had a reasonable basis for believing that
 he possessed that authority.
 Someone,had to pass on instructions to the other employees and there is no showing that there was any representation that Mechanic Capik could validly do more than that. In the absence of proof of an emergency or clear notice that Mr. Capik had supervisory authority, there was no basis for claimant to believe that ha could obtain meaningful permission from Cepik to leave early. We are satisfied from this r_cord that claimant realistically was well aware of the true situation. He could have contacted Track Supervisor Hartnet to obtain the necessary permission.

 AVARD: Claim denied.




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