A hard-fought union grievance against the State of Ohio regarding personal leave usage for state bargaining unit employees has been decided in favor of management.
The issue of personal leave usage during this past bargaining session with the State of Ohio was contentious at best. Citing scheduling issues, management initially tried to restrict usage of overtime to just four times a year, with the employer having the ability to deny a request and non-use before and after a holiday. The union refused. Then management modified that proposal to allow for personal leave in four-hour increments. The union rejected that proposal, too.
A tentative agreement (TA) was finally reached to allow management to restrict the initial personal leave usage to two hours. But subsequently, the state maintained all personal leave was to be taken in two-hour increments, not just the initial two hours.
That’s when OCSEA filed a grievance. It was the union’s contention that the TA only allowed for management to restrict the first two hours of personal leave, with employees being able to take personal leave in other increments subsequently, and that is was a clear understanding of both parties.
However, this week, an arbitrator denied the union’s grievance saying the state of Ohio did not violate Article 27, Section 27.03, of the collective bargaining agreement when it denied increments of less than two hours.