Whether Color-Blind Bus Driver Should Be Given a Road Test to Determine Driving Abilities Was a Proper Subject of Arbitration Pursuant to the Collective Bargaining Agreement
The Second Department determined that whether a bus driver (Cruz), who had been found by a physician to be color-blind, should be given a road test to determine the safety of his driving was the proper subject of arbitration under the collective bargaining agreement. The NYC Transit Authority (TA) argued that the driver should not undergo a road test and the physician should determine whether the driver met the vision requirements of Vehicle and Traffic Law 509-g (1) and related regulations. The union filed a grievance on behalf of the driver arguing the TA’s refusal to cooperate with the administration of the road test violated the collective bargaining agreement (CBA):
In the public sector context, determining whether a grievance is arbitrable requires a court to first determine whether ” there is any statutory, constitutional or public policy prohibition against arbitration of the grievance'” … . If there is no prohibition against arbitration, then the court must determine “whether the parties in fact agreed to arbitrate the particular dispute by examining their collective bargaining agreement” … .
Contrary to the TA’s contention, no statute or public policy absolutely prohibits an arbitrator from deciding whether Cruz should undergo a road test before it is determined whether Cruz meets the vision requirements. Moreover, the parties’ agreement to arbitrate this dispute is supported by the terms of the CBA. The relevant arbitration provisions of the CBA are broad, and there is a reasonable relationship between the subject matter of the dispute and the general subject matter of the CBA … . Any alleged ambiguity in the CBA as to whether the physician could recommend that Cruz undergo a road test ” is . . . a matter of contract interpretation for the arbitrator to resolve'” … . Matter of New York City Tr Auth v Transport Workers Union of Greater NY Local 100, 2014 NY Slip Op 03689, 2nd Dept 5-21-14