AFGE recently won reinstatement and two and a half years of back pay for a nursing assistant at the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Long Beach Medical Center in California after an arbitrator ruled that she had been wrongly terminated.
The nursing assistant, a member of AFGE Local 1061, had been on medical leave and followed leave requesting procedures. VA management, however, marked her absent without leave (AWOL) and subsequently terminated her. AFGE got involved and charged that the VA violated the union contract and unjustly removed the employee who had done everything she was supposed to do, including submitting medical notes from her doctor and being in contact with her supervisor the entire time. She even tried to go back to work but was given wrong information by her supervisor, delaying her return to the office.
After finding that the VA had no credible evidence to support its decision to remove the employee, the arbitrator ordered the agency to reinstate the employee and award her back pay.
“The most striking element in making the determination here is that the Employer, to a significant extent, did not refer to or argue the effect of evidence presented by the Grievant that established many facts that the Arbitrator determines were key in the assessment of the ultimate question here,” wrote Arbitrator Dennis Isenburg. “Basically, these were facts established by the witnesses and the emails exchanged over the period of time Grievant was absent. This record establishes, supported by substantial evidence, that Grievant followed the leave requesting procedures.”
AFGE’s win against the VA is another example of why everyone needs a union and why working people’s ability to hold management accountable is important.
“I'm grateful that the leadership of Local 1061 was there to fight for this employee, file the grievance, and take this case to arbitration,” said AFGE Attorney Michael Pazder who represented the employee at arbitration. “This dedicated nursing assistant was treated so unfairly, being removed from her position after a long medical leave even though she did exactly what she was supposed to do at all times and returned to work as soon as her medical note expired.”
“And while she experienced great hardship being out of work for so long, I'm very proud that we were able to get a fair and just result for her at arbitration, by having that wrongful termination overturned, win her job back, and get her back pay for the entire time she was out of work,” he added.
Ready to hold management accountable and be part of the movement that fights for better working conditions fair treatment? Join AFGE today!
The Office of Personnel Management last week took a huge step toward aligning the locality pay maps for employees on the Federal Wage System and General Schedule.
Read More
With the election approaching Marcial Gomez talks about what’s on the line for TSA employees and his concerns about Project 2025.
Read More
Members of AFGE’s DEFCON Steering Group met along with AFGE staff and elected leaders to discuss ways to better serve employees throughout the DoD in the year ahead.
Read More
