The Court of Appeals, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Wilson, over a dissenting opinion by Judge Garcia, determined two nurses facing disciplinary action for alleged time-card irregularities were entitled to some of the information upon which the charges were based. The nurses were employed by New York City’s Human Resources Administration (HRA). When the request for the information was denied, the “New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA, or the Union) filed an improper practice petition with the Board of Collective Bargaining of the City of New York (the Board), alleging that it had a right to information, under New York City Collective Bargaining Law (NYCCBL) … “. The Board found most of the requested information should be turned over to the NYSNA and the Court of Appeals agreed:
The Board held that section 12-306 (c) (4) [of the NYCCBL] extended to information “relevant to and reasonably necessary for the administration of the parties’ agreements, such as processing grievances, and/or for collective negotiations on mandatory subjects of bargaining,” citing several decisions of PERB [Public Employees Relations Board], the Board’s analogue for state employees … . As noted by the Board, PERB “has consistently upheld the right of a union to seek information for contract administration in the context of disciplinary grievances” … .
* * * Article VI, section 1.D. of the CBA [Collective Bargaining Agreement] defines “grievance” to include: “a claimed wrongful disciplinary action taken against an employee.” Thus, by defining “grievance” to include disciplinary action, the CBA, has, as a matter of contract, incorporated as to disciplinary actions the information requirements applicable to grievances. Matter of City of New York v New York State Nurses Assn., 2017 NY Slip Op 04492, CtApp 6-8-17
MUNICIPAL LAW (EMPLOYMENT LAW, UNION FOR NURSES EMPLOYED BY NEW YORK CITY WAS ENTITLED TO INFORMATION UNDERLYING DISCIPLINARY CHARGES LODGED AGAINST THE NURSES)/EMPLOYMENT LAW (MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES, UNION FOR NURSES EMPLOYED BY NEW YORK CITY WAS ENTITLED TO INFORMATION UNDERLYING DISCIPLINARY CHARGES LODGED AGAINST THE NURSES)/DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS (MUNICIPAL LAW, EMPLOYMENT LAW, UNION FOR NURSES EMPLOYED BY NEW YORK CITY WAS ENTITLED TO INFORMATION UNDERLYING DISCIPLINARY CHARGES LODGED AGAINST THE NURSES)