NAPE/AFSCME member Taylor Tapster, a Highway Maintenance Crew Chief for the Nebraska Department of Transportation, recently won a grievance overturning unjustified disciplinary action.
NDOT alleged three different policy violations against Taylor in a Notice of Allegations that he received months after the purported violations took place. Taylor disputed the facts of the allegations and had witnesses who corroborated his side of the story.
Our union contract requires that state agencies have just cause in order to discipline employees. Just cause includes proving that the allegations are true. NAPE/AFSCME argued on Taylor’s behalf that NDOT violated Article 10.1 of our labor contract and did not have just cause for discipline because the allegations were not true and Taylor’s actions did not violate any agency policy or the labor contract. NAPE also noted that Taylor was not made aware that NDOT found his actions inappropriate until months after the alleged incidents occurred.
Prior to an arbitration hearing, when presented with all the evidence, NDOT agreed to dismiss the allegations and remove the records from Taylor’s personnel file. Taylor did the right thing by reaching out to NAPE immediately and having his union representative file a grievance.