F E D E R A LME D IA T IONA N D C ONCILIATIONSERVICE
In the Matter of Arbitration
Bcfore: .I. .f. PIERSON,Esq.
Arbitrator
bctrveen
U . S . D E P A R T M E N TO F J U S T I C E ,
F E D E R A LB U R E A U O F P R I S O N S ,
FEDERAL CORRECTION CENTER.
C O L E M A N , F L O R I D A ( " A g e n c y " / "F ) m p l o y e r " ) :
OPINION and AWARD
-and-
AMEITICANFEDEITATION
OF GOVERNMENT:
EM P L O YE E SC, OU N C ILo F P Itl soN LoCALS:
L O C A L 5 0 6 'C OL E MA N ,F L OR IDA( "Union"):
FMCSCaseNo.08- 56s32
Gr icvance
of JohnnyPhillips
'l'he
undersigned
dcrives.jLrrisdiction
as Arbitratorol'this rtrattcrlionr appointment
by thc
particspursuantto Articlc 32 ("Arbitration")o1'thcell'cctivcCollectivcBargainingAgrccntcnt
("MasterAgrccmcnt"or "Agrccnrcnt".entcrcclinto the rccorclas .l-I ' ; bctwccnthe parties.'l'hc
appoirttment
directsthcArbitratorto conducta hcaringandissuca llnal anclbinclingdccisionon thc
issucprcscntcd.A ltcaringwas conductcdon Irebruary19.2009 at tl-rclicdcralCorrectional
Cionrplex.
Clolcman.
lrlorida.alicr duc noticcwas lorwardcdto thc partiesby thc Arbitrator.'l'he
particswcrcallbrcled
lirll opporlunityto prest:nt evidcnce
(anclposthcaringsubmissions)
in support
o l ' t l i c i rp o s i t i o nosn t h c l b l l o w , i n g :
ISSUE2:
Did theAgertcy.as limployer.violatetheMasterAgrccmcntby rcassigning
Ollrccr
.lohnnyPhillips to work outsidethe institutiondr-rring
thc perioclhe was bcing
investigatcd
lbr hisconductol'|ebruary10,2008andby denyinghinttheopportunity
t o w o r k o v e r t i m eb c t w e e nF e b r u a r 1
y 1 . 2 0 0 8a n dJ u n c1 8 . 2 0 0 8 ?I f s o ,w h a ts h a l l
be the renredy?
Appearingfbr the Agency:
Appcaringfbr the Union:
AndreaGeiger.[rsq.,AgencyRepresentative
DanielBethea.[JnionAdvocatc
DavidIIonsted.ScrvicesSpecialist
.lim seidcl.ClhiefStewardCornplex
D. B. Drew.ComplexWarden
JohnnyPhillips.Grievant
l. Bxhibitsarenrarkecl
(J- ) fbr Jointl:xlribitst(l:- ) for trrnploycrlrxlribits;and (U- ) lbr Unionlrxhibits.
2.
'l'he
parliescouldnotstipulate
to an Issueand.accordingly,
thisArbitratorfianiedthelssuefbr theparties.
Witnesses
Appearingfbr the Agenc)
WitnessesAppearingfor the Union
DrusillaWiggins,EmployeeServiceSpecialist Cecillloward.President.
Local506
- tlSP-2
.lcnnif-er
Var.rghn.
SpecialAgent - CAB
.linrSeidel.Chicl'Steward
Kevin Rison.EmployeeServiceManager
Tina Summerton.Capt - Security
WendallDulay,SpccialAgent- OIG. USD.I
.loseCastillo.Sr. Of1lccrSpccialist
(by Telephone)
Capt.ClintonSrnith.ComplexCaptain
RobertWestbrook.
SpccialAgcnt.OIA.
AnthonyRyals.MatcrialIlandler-Supcrvisor
TaronicaWhite. C'orrecti
on O I llccr Spccial
ist
BACKGROUND
l'he Federal
Bureauof Prisons(thc."BOP" or "Agency".asthc"[lmployer")andthcCoLrncil
ol-PrisonLocals.includingthc AmericanIrederalcd
o1'Govcrnntcnt
Employecs.Local 506 (the
"LJnion")arcparticsto thc MastcrAgrcenrcnt.
whichappliesto thc Ircdcral('orrcctiunalCionrplcx
"('olcntan"or thc "Conrplcx").
at C-'olcnran.
Irlorida(hcrcinalicr.
"OlllccrPhillips"or thc"Gricvant")hasbccn
Corrcctioti
Ofllccr.krhnnyI'}hillips(hcrcinalicr.
eniployedby the BOI'Ibr 8% ycars,pcrlbrmingat thc Colenranconrplcxlbr thrceycarsand
previously
assigned
to thc Atlantar,
Georgiacontplex,lbr live years.
'l'he
nratterherein aroselionr an incidcntoccurringat thc Coleutancontplexon liebruary10.
2008asOlllccr Phillipsentcredthc screening
areaat USl'}-2to starthis work shili. WhcnOlllcer
Phillips'personalpossessions
wcrc screened
througha nretaldetector,it wasdiscovered
thathc had
a cellphoneandchargerin his lunclibag.Oncerevealed
andretrieved,
OfllcerPhillipsreturned
the
cell phoneandchargerto his personalar"rtomobile.
He proceeded
tliroughscreeningand beganhis
workday.Theoflcer manningthemetaldetector
infbrmedOpcrations
of theincidentandfbllowed
with a writtenreport.(SeeA-9).
On February11, 2008.the AgencygaveOflicer Phillipsnoticcthat he was beingplaced
underinvestigation
and rcassigned
to the centraladministrative
building(CAB). OfflcerPhillips
was not perntittedto work overtimeand not allowedto work the hospital,perimeterpatrol,or any
othcrcorrectionalposton the LJSP-2roster.
C O L E M A N F E D E R A L C O R R E C T I O NC E N T E R - a n t l -L O C A L 5 0 6 ,A F G E
a
The following chronologicaldatesarealsorelevantto the presentntatter:
- March 6. 2008:Officer Phillipswas interviewedby SpecialAgentsDulay ancl
Brunncrof the Ofllce of InspectorGeneral("OIG").
- April ll. 2008: 'l'he Union flled a grievanceor-rbehalf of Ofllcer Phillips,
requesting
lic be nradewholc 1brlostcompensation.
(Sce.l-2).
- In May 200U:Ollicer Phillipswasinterviewed
by SpccialAgentI{. Wcstbrooko1'
thc Offlcc o1-lnterrral
Affairs.
- May 12.2008:'l'hcAgencyresponded
by proceclurally
rc.iecting
thc gricvancclirr
'l'he
failingto arliculatca violationo1'theMasterAgrceme
nt.
Agcrrcyaddedthat.
"As to themeritsof yourclaim,pleasebeadvisedthatyouarecurrcntlybcingtrcatcd
fairlyandcqually.bascdon sirnilarlysitr"rated
employccs."(See.l-3).
- M a y 2 7 . 2 0 0 8 :' f h c U n i o ni n v o k e da r b i t r a t i olnb r O f f l c c rP h i l l i p s(.S c c . l - 4 ) .
-.lune 19.200ti:Olliccr Phillipswasreturnccl
to regularclr-rty
status.
- Junc 23. 2008: 'l'lic Union requcstedan updateto thc statuso1'the OIA
i n re s t i g a t i o n .
- .lLrly
"Your caseis pencling
2. 2008:Mr. AgLrirre
responded:
closureby OIA...once
closcd.1'ouwill bc rcccivinga lettcrfiont the wardcn."(ScctJ-3).
- JLrly8. 2008: WarclcnD.B. Drcw issueda letterstating"'l'hc Ofllce ol'Intcrnal
Allbirs has concludedtheir investigationand dctcrminedthe charge/allegation
to
'l'hcrclbrc.
unlbunded.
thc caschasbcencloscd."(SccU-4).
- Irebruary
I 1,2009:[Jnionltepresentative
Danicll]cthearr:ce
ivednoticcliont BSM,
Kcvin Rison'srnemo(datcd.luly8. 2008).attaching
WarclcnDrcw's lcttcradvising
Oflcer Phillipsthatthe cascwasclosedandhe wasclearedof any wrongdoing.
The Union contended
that.beginningFebruary1l, 2008,the Agencytook actionagainst
OfllcerPhillipswhichhadnot takcnagainstothcremployecs
sirriilarlycliargedandviolatcdArticle
6 andArticlc 18 of the MasterAgreementby lailingto treatOlficerPhillipslairly andequitable.
Accordingto thc LJnion.
duringtheperiodbetween
l.'cbruary
12.2008and.lunc18, 2008,Mr.
Phillipswas unjustlyremovedand reassigned
from his reglrlarwork locationand not allowedtcr
work overtimeor nightdif1'crential.
C O L E M A N F E D E R A L C O I I R E C T I O N C E N T E R - a n d -L O C A L 5 0 6 .A F G E
-J-
The Union maintainedthat Ofllcer Phillipswas taken out of his regularduty statusfbr a
periodof 121daysandbypassed
for a totalof 972 timesat eiglit hoursper shifi. It wasthe position
of theUnionthatOf ficerPhillipsis cntitledto thc numberof overtirnehoursworked(a totalof 486
overtimehours)fbrthc l2l dayspreviousto his removalliorn thc complex.
'fhe
Unionreqr.rcsted
thc Arbitratorto llnd the llnrploycrin violatiorrol'theAgreenrent
and
to awardOlllcer Phillipslost ovcrtirneconrpensation
in thc anrountof 461 hours.witli intcrest
perntittcdby statLrtc.
-l'hc
Agencycontcndcdthat.on l"ebruary10,2008.Olllccr I'}hillipsentercdthc clectronic
searchareait-tUSP2at thc ColenranCornplcx.impropcrlycarryingcontrabancl
(a ccll phoncand
chargcr).
arousingsccurityconcerns
andcausingthc invcstigation
ol'his actions.
Initially.theAgcncyreliedon two casesin supportol'its positionthatOfllcerI'}hillips
was
rcmovedliom regularduties"asa sccuritymeasurc
baseduponallcgations
involvingthcgrievant."'r
'l'hc
Agencycontendedthat, by movingthe Grievantto a tenrpolaryassigr-rrr-rcnt
dLrringthe period
of investigation
ol'theallegatior-rs.
securilyconcerns.justified
the denialof overtinrc'opportunities
duringtheperiodol'ternporarlrcassignnient
andpendingthe investigation.
TlieAgencylurthermaintained
thattheUnioncor.rld
not meetits bLrrden
of proofin thefirst
prongof thebackpaytestbecause'1he
personnel
actionswcrenot unlustiliedor unwarranted'.4
3. UnitedStatesDepartrlcntofJustice
FederalBLrreaLr
of Prisons
UnitedStatcsPenitentiar'_y.
Marion.lllinois
(Agenc.v)and
Alnerican}"ederatiorr
ol'Ciclvernrnent
Eurplcl.vees
Local2343Councilol'Prison
Locals(Union).
6 0 F L R A N o .1 3 8 . 2 0 0 5 W 1 . 6 7 5 1( 0F 7. l , . l { . A . ) ( M a r 1
ch
4.2005);andUnitedStatesDcpartnrcntofJustice
(,Agenc),)
FcdcralBurcauof PrisonsUnitcdStatcsPenitcntiar-v.
I-]eaunront.'l'cxas
andAnrericanIrederation
o f G o v e r n r n e nEtr n p l o y e eLso c a lC - 3 3 C o u n c i lo f P r i s o nL o c a l s( U n i o n ) .5 9 I . L R A N o . 7 5 . 2 0 0 3 W L
(F L.R.A.)(Dec.8,2003).
22964329
4 . ' l ' h e A g e n c yr e f ' e r r etdo t l r e d e f i n i t i o nu n d e rt h e C o d eo l ' I r e d e r a R
l e g u l a t i o n(s5 C . t ' . R .5 5 0 . 8 0 3 ) :
"Unjtrstified
persontrel
or tlnwarraltted
(i.e.. failLrre
actionnrcans
arractof cclrrrnission
or an actol-ornission
to takean actionor confera benefit)thatan appropriate
authoritysubsequently
determines,
on the basisof
substantive
or proccdural
del-ects.
to havebeenun-justificd
or unwarrantcd
underapplicable
law. lixecutive
order,rule,regulation,
or mandatorvpersonnel
policy established
by an agencyor througha collective
bargaining
agreemcnt.Sucltactionsincludcpcrsonnel
(aloncor in conrbinatiorr)."
actionsandpayactiorrs
C O L E M A N F E D E R A L C O R R E C T I O NC E N T E R - a n d -L O C A L 5 0 6 ,A F G E
-1-
Accordingto the Agency.the investigation
of OfficerPhillips(includinghis removalfrom
thecomplexandreassignment
withoutovertimeopportr"rnity)
was.lustilied
whenit wasreportecl
that
an electronic
searchof his personnel
itemsrevealed
acell phoneandcharger.
Moreover,the Agencycontendedthat.even il'its personnelaction in rcnrovingOflicer
Phillipsliom thecomplexanddenyingliis overtimeopportunitics
was Llnwarranted
or unlustified,
theUnioncouldnotnreetits burdenof prool'lbrawardingcorlpcnsation.
Accordingto tlic Agcncy,
the lJnion could not provc that Olliccr l)liillips wor-rldhavc bccn olfbrcd spccilic ovcrtintc
assignments
on spccificdatcs.It wasthe positionol'thc Agcncythatthc [Jnion'sclcrnand
lbr lost
ovcrtimeis spcculative
andovertinrcavailablelbr stall'rnarkedly
clecreasecl.
The Agencyrequcsted
thc Arbitratorto llnd that its actionsin investigating
the inciclent,
reassigning
Olllccr Phillipsand Irot allowinghim to work overtimc,was ncitherunjustiliednor
unwarranted
when consideringits securityconcerns:and. notwithstanding
a linding in the
alternative.
to llid that the lost compensation
reniedysouglitby tlie lJnion is specr-rlative
anddoes
not meetthe legalcriteriafbr backpay. Finally,the Agencyrequested
the Arbitratorto dcny the
grievance.
RE,LEVANT CONTRACT LANGUAGE
Article 30 - Disciplinaryand AdvcrscActions
S e c t i o n d . R c c c l g r t i z i n g t h caitrtchuen r s t a n c e a n d c o n t p l c x i tiirer sdoi vf i d u a l c a s e s l v i l l v a r y .
the partics endorse the conccpt of tirnely disposition of investigationand
disciplinary/advcrse
actions.
2. ctnployeeswho are the sub.jcct
ol- an invcstigation
wlrereno disciplinaryof
adverscwill be proposcdwill be notifledol'this dccisionrvithinseven(7) workingclays
aftertherevicwof the irrvestigation
by theChiefExecutivc
Of llceror designee.
Thispcriod
of'tirlc nraybe adjustcdto accountfbr periodof leavc.
-l-he
Sectiong.
Elnployerretainstherightto respondto an allegedoll-ense
by an employee
rvhichnrayadvcrselyaffbctthe l:rnployer's
conlldencein the ernployee
or the sccurityor
ordcrlyoperationof the institution.I'he Ernployermay electto reassign
the enrployee
to
job within the institutionor rernovethe enrployee
atrother
tiom the institutionpending
investigation
and resolutionof the matter,in accordance
with applicationlaws,rules,and
regulations.
C O L E M A NF E D E R A LC O R R E C T I O N
C E N T E R- a n d -L O C A L5 0 6 .A F G E
-5-
EXHIBITS
JOINT
DIISCRIPTION
J- I
l-2
J-3
J-4
MastcrAgrccment
Clrievance
5/5/0tJWardcnDrew: lLcsporrse
to grievancc
Invocationof arbitration
UNION
U-I
tl-2
U-3
U-4
U-5
U-6
U-7
U-ti
[J-9
U-10
U-l I
U-12
U-l3
U- l4
tJ-| 5
M e r n oo f i n v e s t i g a t i o n
516108
adrninistrative
inquiry
ll2l08 G. Aguirre e-rnailro Mr. Irhillips
7 1 8 1 0W
8 a r d c nD r c w l c t t c rL oM r . P h i l l i p s
2 l l 4 1 0 8L a r o r s h a
P e r e re
s - r n a itl o M r . P h i l l i p s
l l l 8 l 0 7 l r l c c t r o n i cs c a r c h epsr o c c d u r c s
Reviewof FederalBureauof Prisons'DisciplinarysystemRcportl-2004-008
4 l l l 0 8 . l . S e i d em
l c e t i n gr n e r n o
6123108.1.
Seidclto WardenDrew CascUpdarc
Memo of understanding
betweenUnion and Managementovertinrcroster
pr0graln
2 l l 7 l 0 9 ' l ' a r o n i c aW h i t eo v c r l i m eS u r n r n a t i o n
O 1 ' l r c eIr' } h i l l i pw
s a sa s s i g n etdo t h eC A I I l i o n r 2 l 1 2 u n I i l 2 l l g
6 1 2 0 1 0o8v e r t i r r cl o g
6120108
totalovertirnepaid for 2ll l/08 through612l l0B
Ycarly pay scalelbr thc GS-3 throughCS- | 0
AGENCY
A- I
A-2
A-3
A-4
A-5
,4-6
A-7
A-8
A-9
A-10
2ll0l08 rnerno
Policystateltlent
on the standards
ol-ernployec
conduct
2 l l 8 l 0 9 . l e r r yS l o a nt o K e v i n R i s o nO v e r - t i r nMc c m c r
'l'otal
l'iscal Year lirnployeeSumrnary:
salariespaid oLrtto Mr. Phillips
(4 monthsprior to invcstigation)
2007 DO.l PayrollCalendar
2008 DOJ I']ayrollCalcrrdar
'fotal
FiscalYear EmployeeSummary:
salariespaid out to Mr. Phillips
(4 monthssubsequent
to investigation)
Ncw searchprocedures
2ll0108 A.R. TernplesIncidentInvolvingstaff searchrlerno
'fe'lera
'l'ernples
2ll0108 M.
merro to Mr.
C O L E M A N F E D E R A L C O R R E C T I O NC E N T E R - a n d -L O C A L 5 0 6 .A F G E
-6-
RE,VIEW OF RECORD
Ofllcer.lohnnyPhillips.employedby the BOP fbr eight-and-a-half
ycars(at the time of
hearing),
testifiedon hisown bcliall-.
describing
hiserlploymrent
historyeurdtheinciclcnt
ol'liebruary
10.2008. Working at thc ColenranConrplexfbr rnorethan threc years.Olllccr Phillipswas
previouslyassigned
to thc Atlanta.Georgiacomplex(USP2)lbr flve years. As Olhcer Phillips
explained.hetransl'erred
fiom Atlantato Colemanto pursuethe opportunityfbr promotionto GS-8.
(Tr.20).5
OfflcerPhillipstcstiliccltliat.on Fcbruary10.2008.hc rcportecl
lirr work alicr workinga
doubleshili thc priorday.('l'r.22)I Ic wasscliedulcd
to rclicvcanotltcrofliccrworkingin thctowcr
post.Accordingto theGrievant.he wasrunningbehindandleli his vchiclcin a rursh.As hc cntcrcd
the liont lobby entrance.
... I placedall my equipmentin the numberone bin and set my fbod itcmson the
counterto thetraincrs('.
...As I walkcdthrouglithc cx-rayntctaldetectorand I bcgan
'l'cmplcs
dressingback lbr my dr.rty7.
thercwas - - Mr.
told mc your bag wc nccdtt'r
checkout what'sin yourbagthatthemetaldetector
is goingo1'1.So I said,okay. So
Istartcdpullingitcmsottto1'rnybaganc'lI opcnccl
orrcbagup anclcliscovcrccl
I hacl
fbrgotmy cell phoncand chargerwas in there. And I told him I saicl,"Sorry about
'l'hat's
that.
nry cell phoneandchargcr."('l'r.22)
5. I-eavinglrisfanrilyin Atlanta.OfficerPhillipsfirstroornedwith anothertransferee
in thc Colernan,
then
becatne
transient.WltenItotworkingovertirne,
theGrievantreturned
to Atlantaon hisdaysol1. As Ofllcer
Phillipsexplained,
he stayedwith his brotherin St. Petersburg,
Floriclawherrworkingovertirneor "living
out of Iny cardoingtlteovertitncsendingnroncyhorne."('l'r.2I ). As theCrievanLlaterconflrrned.
bccausc
he workeda lot of oveftintcand did not havca residence
at thc Cclrnplex.
he olien sleptin his car bctween
shiftsandshorvered
in the trainingcenter.(Tr.28).
6. On cross-exantination,
thc Crievantnraintained
thathe hada lunchbagand a grocerybag.('l'r.48). He
placedthc lunchbagortthc convel'orbeltto go throughthc x-rayarrdthc othcrbagwasgivcnto thc screener.
(Tr.49).The grocerybackcontained
a gallonof milk, a box of Ritz Crackers,
and a third item. (Tr.49
7. On cross-examination,
the Crievantexplainedthatgettingdressed
and 'gearingup' rneantputtingback
o n h i s b e l ta n dc l i p sh o l d c r s(.T r . 5 0 ) .
C O L E M A NF E D E R A LC O R R E C T I O N
C E N T E R- a n d -L O C A L5 0 6 .A F G E
On cross-examination.
OtllcerPhillipsexplainedhow thephoneandchargergot intothebag.
He described
how heworkeda dor.rble
shiftthedaybefbreandwasat a hospitalwhcnhc got relieved
earlierthanexpectcd.l-hus,he gathered
up andthrewhis belongings
in his bag.It endedup in the
plasticbaginto anotherbagwith thc box of crackers.(Tr.53).Accordingto the Gricvant.thecell
phoneplaccdin theplasticbagendcdLrpin thcboxof crackcrs
alsoplaccdin thc plasticbag.('l'r.55).
l'he Gricvanttestilledthat he returnedthe phoneand cliargcrto his car.thenre-entered
thc
buildingandclcaredtlic nrctaldetector.(Tr.23).IIe conrnrcnced
his sixtccr-r
hourtour.
OfllcerI'hillipstestillcdthat.on thc lbllowingday(FebrLrary
I l . 2008).whilcworkingin thc
G-l housingunit 62. lic was relievedand directedto thc reportto thc CAISbuilding. ('l'r.23).
Ollcer Phillipsrelatedthathc waswalkcdoutof hisofllceandadvised"thattheonly tliingI would
bc doingpcr Captain.lcnkinswor-rld
be 7:30to 4:00 MonclaythroughIrridayanclI woulclnot bc
doingnothingelse."('l r.24).
'l'he
Grievantwasnotpcrmittedto work in tlic hospitalandwasaskecl
to takehimsclfofl'thc ovcrlimelist.n
When OfIcer Phillips was questionedabout his overtime prior to liebruary l0'r',he stated,
I normally worked any overtime they had available Monclay throrlgh Friday on my
regular5-day work rveekanclon my daysotl-lwoulcl do doLrblcs.('l'r.25).
Olllccr I'hillipstcstiflcdthat,altcr he wasrenrovedl}om thc institution,he llrst workcdin
theadministrative
arca(a conf'ercncc
room."out o1'sight").
nronitoringphones.andthcnmovcdto
the"liont lobbyarca." ('l'r.32).Accordingto thc Grievant.
...I l'eltkind of embarrasscd
andhr-rnriliated
andkinclof disgusted
you havc
bccausc
to wear headphones
to do phonemonitoringand not do it on the speakerphone
becausctlieyprisoninmates.l'ernaleinrnatesaroundwhereyou couldn't allow tlierr-r
to hearthe convcrsation
aboutthe inmates'population.
And peoplcwouldcornein
andask me they said.what areyou doing up here?"('l'r.33).
8 . ' l ' h e r e q u e s tr v a s t n a d e b y L i e u t c n a n t H u g h e s . U S P - l A d r n i n l - i c u t c n a n t . ( ' l ' r . 2 4 ) . A s t h e G r i e v a n t
a c k n o r v l e d g e dh, e d i d n o t t a k e h i s n a m e o f T t h e o v e r t i m e l i s t a n d s i g n e d u p f b r o v e r l i n r ed u r i n g t h e w h o l e
quarter.(-l'r.25).
C O L E M A N F E D E R A L C O R R E C T I O NC E N T E L - a n d -L O C A L 5 0 6 .A F C E
-8-
And thensomepeoplewould comein andstopin the fiont door befbretheycomein
and....1couldtell theywasof like,"'fhis is thc guy."or theywolrldcomein andlook
at me a certainway. I felt reallyfiustratcdsittingout therealier being - - thenornral
procedurewasout of sightin a sideroom lbr phonentonitoring.But abouta month
in I wasmovedout fiont. (Tr.34).
I wasreallyliustratcdaboutthesitLration.
but I hadto let it run its courscbecause
nry
wif-e.....my wifc was rcallyupsetandstressing
at thc time....itreallyhurtnreto sit
thereand haveto go througl-r
this day-inand day-out.... Peoplewon't speakto me
l i k et h c yu s c dr o . . . .( T r . 3 6 ) .
OllrccrPhillipsalsotcstiflcdthathelirllycooperated
with thcOlllceol'thcInspector
General
anditsannounced
invcstigation
(approximately
onentc'rnth
alier thel"ebruary
2008incident)by "Mr.
DulayandMr. Brunncr."('l'r.2(r)."Accordingto tlic witncss.he alsoprovidedcell phonerecords.
('fr.27). Alier thc discussion
with the two agents.hc was assurcdby his conductwas "a sinrplc
mistake"and told by the OIG agentsthat tliey would "del-erand not purslle"the ntatterlurther.
(-l'r.29).OfllcerI)hillipslatcrrcccivcdthc OI(i rcport.r0llc wasallowcclbackintothc institr.rtion
'l'r.31
on .lttnc19.2008.wheninlbrmcdby Lieutenant
Shaw.('l-r.2t)
ancl
). lironithatpointin tir.nc,
Ofllccr Phillipswasalsoperrrittcci
to work overtinre
. ('l'r.32).I Ie haclbeenout his positionanclnot
pcrmittedto work overtinrclbr a pcrioclol' l2l days.('l'r.36).
IJponrctttrning
tttthc institLrtion.
OflicerPhillipsrcqucsted
inlbrmation
liom GeorgcAguirrc
abouthis statr-rs.
but was infbrmedtliat the investigation
was still clpcrr. As Olflccr Phillips
conflrnrcd.it was not until Fcbruary2009 that hc reccivecl
conlirntationthc invcstigittit)n
was
'l'hus,
completed
andhc wasclcarcd ('l'r.38anclseeLJ-4).
whiletheinvesligation
wasclosccl
in.luly
2008.OIficerPhillipswasnotgivennoticeo1'the
closurcuntil Fcbruary2009.(l'r.39).r' According
to tlieGrievant,
considering
thatbeingout of work sethim backanddamaged
his qualityol-lil-e
and
thatof his familyin Atlanta(Tr.43).
- U.S.Dept.of
9. WendallDulayandJeflieyBrunner,SpecialAgents
Justice,Offlceof Inspector
General.
l 0 . O f f i c e r P h i l l i p s t e s t i f l e d t h a t . p r i o r t o r e t u r n i n g t o t h e i n s t i t u t i ol gntohr,rhJeuanles o s p o k e t o R o b e r l
Westbrook,
SpecialAgento1-theOlllce o['lnrcrnalAI'firirs.
('l'r.30).
I I . Thc Gricvantacknorvlcdgcd
thathc wasnoton lcavebetwecnJuly 8, 2008andFebruary2009.(Tr.4l).
COLEMANFEDERALCORRECTIONCENTER-and-LOCAL 506.AFGE
-9-
The Union also presentedthe testimonyof Cecil Howard.employedby the Agency fbr
sixteenyears(presently.an ElectricalWorkerSupcrvisor)andthe Unior-rPresidcnt(fbr six ycars).
Thewitnessexpressed
his fanriliaritywith thc"entrancc
searchprocedure
s of BOPemployccs
at the
lacility"andidentifledthc writtenproccdures.
(1'r.61andseeLi-6rr). As Mr. Ilowardrecognizcd,
the purposeof the procedurcs
was to prevcntunauthorizcd
itcntscoming into tlic institution.rr
('l'r.67).
When questioncdas to the applicationol' the proccdurcs.Mr. Iloward lelateclthat an
cniployeesettingolf the mctal detector(with somethingin their pockct.includinga cell phone)
wouldbepermitted
to rcturnthe itcm to theircar.'*1'l'r.701.Neverthcless,
hetestilledtliatOfllcer
Phillips,undersimilarcircunrstances.
wasaccused
ol'attempting
to introducecontrabanci
intothc
institution.(1r.72). Rcspondingto questionsrelatingto other stafl'membersplacedunder
investigation
for allcgingintroduction
of contrabandr5.
Mr. Howardrelatedthattwo employecs
were
pernritted
to continueto work theirpostandto work overtille.r6
('fr.77-78).
Jim Seidel,crnployedby theAgencysir.rcc
1994.is a SeniorOlllccr Spccialist
irrthc tiSP-2
'l'r.96).
Clolctnan
andtheC'hicl'Steward
firr the [Jnion.('l'r.94ancl
Mr. Seidclrcprcscntcd
Ollicer
Phillipsduringthc grievanccproceclure
(andduringthc invcstigations).
('l'r.96).
12.ExecLrted
by thc Bureauof Prisons'National
Cerrtral
Olllce andthe Cor.rncil
President.
13.As the lvitnesstestiflcd,"... it lvasnecessary
fcrrthe Agencyto put this in placeto stopthe substanccs
fiorttentcringintothc institutionthatshouldn'tbe gonein. suchas contraband
or whatevert:Isc."(-l'r.69).
14. While the Agencyobjcctedto the opinionof tlre lvitnessbeingofl'eredin evidence.this Arbitrator
accepted
Mr. Howardcor.npetent
to testili,abovehis obscrvatit'lrrs.
15.Mr. Howard,lvith knorvlcdgc
ol-theincidcntsresultinglionr his positic'rn
as [JnionPresident.
testified
thatthefirsternployee,
OfTrcer
Viera(employed
in theFCI low securitylevel)wasplacedurrderinvestigation
lbr introduction
of contrabaltd.
16.Whileatternpting
to prccludetestinrony
relatingto the invcstigations
tbr "introductionol'contraband,"
theAgencyacknorvledged
thatthis Arbitratoris permittedto determine,on its face.whetherpreclusionfronr
rvorkandpreclusion
fiorn overtintcwas reasonablc.
(Tr.80).
C O L E M A NF E D E R A LC O R I I E C T I O N
C E N T E R- a n d -L O C A L5 0 6 ,A F G E
-10-
As Mr. Seideltestifred.he was with Officer Phillipsduring the OIG investigation
and
concludedfrom his questionsto thc investigators
"a simple
that the incidentwas cctnsidercd
(Tr.97). Accordingto thc witness,the OIG reporlconflrrnedthat liavingthe cell phone
ntistake."
andchargeron his possession
as he entcrcdthe institutionwasa mistakc.
Mr. Seidcltestilledthathealsoflleda grievancc
on bchall'ol-Ol'llcer
Phitlipsin April 2008,
not only because
he was assigncdto thc CAB building.but also bccauschc was taker"r
o11-thc
overtimclist. ('l'r.100). Duringthe subsequent
period,he madeatten.rpts
to determinethe statuso1'
the investigation.
He acknowledged
that Ollicer Phillipswas'broughtbackto duty'on.lune 19.
2 0 0 8 .( T r . l 0 4 ) .
On.lune23. 2008.Mr. Seidcllbrwardeda nrenroto WarclcnDrcw. rcvicwingthc incidcnt
over the periodo1-tinrebetwccnl"cbruaryanclthc clateo1-OlllccrI'}hillip'srcturnto work ancl
requesting
thc statusol'the cilse.'t As Mr. Seideltestilicd.hc neverrcceivcda rcsponscfiont
'l'o
WardcnDrew. ('l'r.106). thc Union.thcrercnrained
a clucstion
of"'whatwasthcchangc'i",
sincc
'l'hc
OlllcerPhillipsu'as"pLltback..jLrst
no i1s,andor buts,rightbackto dutystatus."
Agcncygave
no explanation.
('l'r.108).Accordingto theemailfbrwardcdliont the Agencyr8
through
M r . S e i d eal l s oi d e n t i f i e d
t h e l e t t e rd a t e d . l u l 8
y . 2 0 0 8 .a d d r e s s et d
o O l l r c e rI , h i l l i p sf i o m
D.B.Drew,ComplexWarden(secU-4).whichstated:
"On February10.2008.anallegation
of lJnauthorized
Illectronic
DcviccIntroduction
'fhe
was made against you.
Oflice of lnternal Allairs has concludedtheir
investigation
anddetcrminedtlic charge/allcgation
to bc r-rnlbunded.
l-hcrclbrc.thc
caseis closed.
I 7. Specilically
askingabout"... tltestatusof thiscase,to irrclude
whetheror not it is stillactive."(SeeU-9).
lrt part,the Uniorrrvasprrrsrring
its representative
duties.('l'r.107).
18.Accordirrg
to the witrtess,
on lrebruaryI l, 2009,he rcceiveda I'axliorn ESM, Kevin Rison,attaching
WardenDrew'sJuly8. 2008letteradvisingOfflcerPhillipsthatthecasewasclosedarrdOfficerPhillipswas
clcarcdof any wrongdoing.
(-l'r.109).
C O L E M A NF E D E R A LC O R R E C T I O N
C E N T E R- a n d -L O C A L5 0 6 .A F G E
-l l-
We fully understand
theanxietyandapprehension
thatstafffbelswhenan allegation
is madeagainstthenr. Howcver,in orderto maintainthe integrityol-ourworking
environment,we ntust thoror.rghlyinvestigatcevery accusationbrought to our
attention.We sincerelyappreciate
yourcooperation
in bringingthis to a close...."
'l'ina
Sutnmerton.
cnrployedby thc BOP fbr ciglit-and-onc-l.rall'years,
preser.rtly
holdsthc
positiono1'Captain
Secrctary
at tlic ColemanComplex.('l-r.l15). Ms. Sumrnerton
testilledshewas
previously
underinvestigation
lbr "introduction
('l'r.l l5). Shealsotcstilledthat
ol-contraband.""'
shewasallowedto workoverlimeduringtheperiodof herinvcstigation,
butchosenotto. [,ikewise,
shewasnot takenoll'her postnor placein thc liont lobbyo1'theCIAB. ('l'r.I I 6). Shewasreccntly
clcarcdo1'"bringingin cigarcttes
to an inmate."20
('l'r.11(r). Neverthele
ss,duringthat periodol'
tirne,shewaspcrntittedto work insidcthc institr.rtion.
.loseCastillois a ScniorOfllcerSpccialist,
employedby thc BOI'}fbr nine-and-a-hall'years.
While workingat othcr lacilities.Mr. Castillohas beenat thc Colcn-ran
Complexsincc2005.
('l'r.120).Mr. Castillotestiliedthat he workcdas a tclephonemonitorin liebruary2008andwas
directedto ntakca CIDol'the tapeol'the incidcntol'I.'cbruary10'r'.('l'r.122).Accorclingto thc
witness.
wheltobserving
thetape.hc noticedthatOflicerl)hillipsdid not seern ncrvousllor agitated
as lre proceeded
thror"rgh
the metaldetector.rr('l'r.124).
Mr. Castillo\ /i.lsalsoquestioncd
abouthis observations
ol'otherernployees
takingitcms
throughtlic metaldctcctor.As thc witnesstestilled,onccdiscovered.
employees
werepennittedto
rcturnthc itcmsto thcircars.('l'r.124).IJeaddedthat.sinceOllcer l'hiltip'sincident,"everybody
is reallyscaredaboutit... bclbre they gct to the door. they are touchingthemselves.
sliaking
themselves
down andgo backto the vehicle."(Tr.124-125\.
19.The investigation
beganin Fcbnrary2007.('l'r.lI 7).
20. Shercceiveda lcttcron liebruary2.2009.(-fr.l l8).
21. Whileaskedto describchis obscrvations
of thc tape.the lvitnessrnentioned
therervcrcobstnrctions
in
viewingOfficerPhillipsconduct.The Agerrcynotedthatthe witnesstestifledthat he alsolostsightof the
Gricvantduringtirncshe rvaspassingthroughthe nretaldetcctor.('l'r.126).
COLEMANFEDERALCORRECTIONCENTER-and-LOCAL 506,AFGE
-t2-
Clint Smithalsotestifledfbr theUnionand.asComplexCaptain(employed
by theBOPfbr
fourteenyears).couldnot recallanybody(otherthanOfficerPhillips)bcingplacedin thefrontlobby
while underinvestigation.
(1-r.128).CaptainSmithhada recollection
of a staffmemberbringing
in a cell phoneinto the institutionand.oncenotilled.allowcclto rcturnthc itcr-nto theircar.An
invcstigatioll
wasconrmenced
(1'r.133).Ile wasawarcthatsontebody
at thetinrcit wasreported.
hadbecnpulledoll'theirpostandplacedin the CAB buildingwhile underinvestigation.Ile was
n o t a w a r e o l ' a n y o n c b e i n g a s s i g n e d t o t h c l o b b y w h i l c u n d e r i n v c s( 'tli'gr .a1t 4i o3n) .
AnthonyI{yals.eniploycdby the BOP lbr oneyearandsevennronths,holdsthe positionol'
MaterialHandlersupervisor.
Ile is currently(atthetirneo1'thehearing)underinvt'stigatiotr
olt two
charges.('l'r.145).Mr. Ityalstestillcdthat he is perntittedto work overtinteand is workinghis
n o r m a l j o b .( T r . 1 4 7a n d 1 4 8 ) .
'fhe
lJnionalsocalledConiplexWardenDarrylDrew to testify. In thc positionol'warden
since2003(initiallyat theFCI RayBrook.New York facility.).WardenDrewhasbeenin hispresent
capacityas Wardenat FCC ColeniansinceJanuary200t3.('l'r.I 50). 'l'heWardcnwasqucstioncd
asto his knowledge
concerning
Olllcer I'hillips'investigation,
bcingplacccl
outsidcthe institution
anddcniedovcrtinredr.rring
the periodol'his invcstigation
tlirough.lunc23.2008.
As WardenDrew tcstilred,it was liis decisionto placcOlllccr I'hillipsor.rtsiclc
thc securt:
perimeterduringthe investigation.He alsorelbrrcdOlllccr Phillipsto thc OIA lbr allcgations
o1'
misconduct
lbr an attcnrpted
introdr"rctior.r
ol'contrabancl
into the lacility.('l'r.152).
WardenDrew recognizcdthattlie electronicsearchprocedures
fbr entryinto thc institution
(U-6)andthespecilicprovisionwhich allowedBOPeniployees
settingoff themetaldctectorto take
the itemto theirvehiclein orderto clearthe metaldetector.(Tr.l53). He acknowledged
it was
"possible"
thatanemployee
couldforgota cellphoneandchargewasin hispossession
whenpassing
throughthemetaldetector.(Tr.l58).
C O L E M A N F E D E R A L C O R R E C T I O NC E N T E R - a n d -L O C A L 5 0 6 .A F G E
-13-
Finally,whenquestioned
if he wasawareof anyoneelsein the positionof beinginvestigated
was placedoutsideof the instituteor deniedthe opportunityto work overtimehours,asidefrom
OfficerPhillips.WardenDrcw acknowledged.
"No. ...nonethatI sr.rpervisc."
(Tr.l 59). Nor did he
haveknowledge
thatthe lctterdeclaringOff-icer
Phillip'sinvcstigation
andcasecloscd(datcd.luly
8 , 2 0 0 8 ) h a d n o t b e e n r e c c i v e d b y O f f i c c r I ' ] h i l l i p s o r t h e [ J] rnci o
bn
r ru. n
r aItIir.ly2 0 0 9 . ( f r . I 6 I ) .
Counsclfbr the Agcncyalsoqucstioned
WardcnDrew. Ol'notc,thc witnessclescribed
the
'l'here
Clolentan
complexas llvc institutions.
includinga ccntraladministration
building.
werelbur
wardenssLrpcrvising
thc llvc institr-rtions.
In acldition
to the title ol"'ContplexWardcn".Warclen
Drcw hasoperatioltal
authorityol'Pen2; while WardenMiddlcbrookshasoperational
authorityol'
Pen1.
'l'ogether,
thc two rvarclcn
hassupervisory
authorityol'thcCentralAdntinistration
BLrilding.
PenI andPen2 arethe"high security"institutions."(Tr.165-166). In refbrringto thc investigation
of OlllcerI'}hillips.
WardenDrew explaincd:
It wasrcportedby stalf mernbersthatthcrewasan incidcntthatoccurrcdat the fiont
lobby. And stall'outline.
in the l.ncnros.
theircorrccrrls
as wcll as thcir pcrccptions
'l'he
of an attemptof introduction
of a cell phoneinto the lacility.
infbrmationand
tlic allegations
wcrc rel'errcd
to theOfllceol'lnternalAllirirsanc'lthey
subsequently
did an investigation
on thoscallegations.
...It wasnoteclthatit wasvcry suspicious
( l ' r .| 6 6 -1 6 7)
... it's a requirement
thatit be rel'erred
to theOfflceof InternalAffairsby all of us.
Ilut thc instanccs
that wcrc dctailedin termsol'theactivity. thc behavior,andtltc
overalldetectionof a cell phoneand chargerin a box. roseto the levelof beinga
concernlbr management.
...If cellphonesareintroduced
intothefacilitythenit directly.jeopardizes
our ability
to bc able to ct-tsurc
the saletyol'the public,stafl.the inmatcs,and the orderly
runningof theinstitution.An inmatewouldhavethcabilityto communicate
without
'fhcy
being monitored.whichis a requirement
within the Bureauof Prisons.
could
facilitatemurderfor hirc. sell it on the black market.recordinformation.scndout
pictures,exposethe identitiesof inmatesand staff alike. It's a seriousconcern
( T r . l 6 8 I-6 9 ) .
22. WardenPastrana
hasauthorityof the Mediurnsecurityinstitutionandthe "Carnp" WardenJarvishas
authorityovcr thc Lo*, sccurityinstitr"rtion.
('l'r.165).
C O L E M A NF E D E R A LC O R R E C T I O N
C E N T E R- a n d -L O C A L5 0 6 .A F G E
-14-
WardenDrew alsoexplainedthe securityconcernwhen consideringOfficer Phillip's post
in "Tower7". locationin the ccnterof thc recreation
yardsandthecenterol'theinstitution.As the
'l'orver "providcs
Wardendcscribed.
7
oversight
of ourstall'intermsol'l'irearnrs,
wcaponryoversight
o1-tlrc
entirecompound.(1-r.172).
WardenDrcw confirmcdthat.bascdon his rightsunderArticle 20. sectiong. he removed
OfllcerPhillipsfiom Pen2 andreassigned
him to thecentraladministrative
building.pendingthc
deterntination
of the investigation.(Tr.l76). Ilowcver. on cross-cxamination.
the Warden
acknowledgccl
therehadbccna numbcrol'invcstigations
goingon at thctilncanclit wasonlyOfliccr
Phillipswho wasnot allowedbackinto the institutioncluringhis invcstigation.('l'r.I 83). Ancl.in
addition,thc Wardencouldnot statcwhy tliedecisionwasmadeto allow Olllccr I,hillipsbackinto
theinstitution
on .lunel9'r'.1'l'r.l84).
'l'he
Wardenclidnot responcl
pointedquestion
to the LJnion's
regardingOfllcer Phillpsbeingtreateddifl'erentlythat othcrcases.
'fhe
[Jnionalsocallccl'l'aronica
Whiteto tcstilyto damagcs
cxpcricnccd
by OllicerI'}hillips.
Workingin theIIOP since1996.Ms. Whitehasbccnassigncd
to ColcnranIiCCIsince2005. Shcis
currcntlya SeniorOlllccr Spccialist
andalsothe[JnionSccrctary.
In thelatcrposition,shcovt:rsces
theoverlimeprocedurcs.
the rostcrsandanyoflicers'issuesdealingwith shili conllicts.('l'r.186-
r8 7 ) .
Referencing
theMOU (Menrorandum
ol'tJnclerstanding
bctu,een
theLJnionandManzrgcnrcnt
on thc overtimcrosterprogranr.
seeLJ-10),Ms. Whitc lestifledthatshercvicwcdOfllcerPhillips'
overtimerosterprintout(dailyassignmcnts)
asto thc 121dayspriorto f.'cbruary
10,2008.( fr.189).
Ms. Whitetcstifiedtliat shcgenerated
the documentregardingOllrccr Phillips' overtime.(SeeUI 1).
C O L E M A N F E D E R A L C O I I R E C T I O N C E N T E R - a n d -L O C A L 5 0 6 .A F G E
-l5-
Basedon Ms. White'srecordsandcalculations.
OfficerPhillipsworked486hoursin 81total
assignments
duringthc 12l dayspriorto Febrr-rary
10'h.1Tr.194). He clidnot work overtinrebetween
I r e b r u a rlyl ' r ' a n d J u n el 8 r h 2
. 0 0 8 . ( T r . 1 9 6 ) .M s . W h i t ec o n f l r m e dt l i c r ew e r c 9 7 2 l o s to v e r t i m c
opportunities
duringthat sameperiodol'time,althoughnot all wereavailableto Ofliccr Phillips.2s
(Tr.200). Shecalculated
that Oflcer Phillipslost 72 hoursol'overtimeopportunityeachweek
duringtheperiodFcbrr.rary
I I'hto .Juncl9'h.2008.21
Ofllcerl)hillipswasrccallcdto testilytliathispayrateasa Ci-8.Step6 (asol-liebrr.rary
2008)
was$24.10per hourand $36.15 ("capped")fbr overtimehours.(1'r.213).
In response.
theAgencypresented
thetestimony
of DusillaWiggins.an EmployeeServices
Specialist.
responsible
fbr I-MR aswcll asadversc
actions.Accordingto licrtcstintony.
shcprepares
thc disciplinary
letterand is the kccpcrol'rccords.
Ms.Wigginswasqucstioned
aboutreassignnrcnts
pcndingclisciplinary
actions.Shctcstiljcd
to her knowledgethat"at leasttwo stall's"(otherthanOfflcer Phillips)havebeenreassigned
to the
CAB duringinvestigations.
Witli theexception
of theGrievant.WardenDrewwasnot thc warden
at thc time of rcassignntcnt.
('I'r.216).On cross-examination.
the witnessacknowlcclgcd
thatthe
otheremployeeswert:not itssigrrcd
to tlie CAB lobby dr.rring
1heperiodthey r.rndcrinvestigation.
('I'r.217\.
23. Whenasked,Ms. White acknowledged
thatthe total ol-7.116hoursof overtirnernissedwhenOfTlcer
Phillipswasbypassed
972tinresduringtheperiodol'February
I l'r'through
Juncl9'r'wnsnotaccuratc
in that
t h e b y p a s s e d o v e r t i m e c o u l d h a v e o c c u r r e d f l v e t i r n e s f b r t h e s a m( Te rs.h2i0f i2. - 2 0 3 . s e e U - 1 4 ) .
24. Basedon Ms. White'scalculatiott
of "rnaximurn"lostoveftimeopportllnities,
Oflcer Phillipslostfive
overtimeopporturrities
duringhis rvorkrveckandtwo on eachdaytheGricvantwasoff work (assLrming
he
workeddoubleshiftson eachof his trvodaysoff). At eight(8) hoursper shift,Ms. WhitecalcLrlated
that
OfflcerPhillipslost72 hoursof ovcrtinreperwcck. (-l'r.210).
C O L E M A NF E D E R A LC O R R E C T I O N
C E N T E R- a n d -L O C A L5 0 6 .A F G E
-16-
The Agencyalsopresented
the testimonyof Jennif-er
Vaughn.employedas a Technicianin
theSIA (SpecialInvestigations
Agents')offlcein theCAB. Thc SIA is responsible
fbr investigating
staff"rnisconduct"
('l'r.219).It wasMs. Vaughnwho gcnerated
cases.
thc lctterol-.fLrly8. 2008(tJ4) to OlllcerPhillipswhichadviscdhim thccasewascloscd.Accordingto thewitncss,shesenttwcr
e-mailnotiflcations
to OflicerPhillips.withoutresponse.rt
('I'r.220).Shedid not recallchecking
to conflrmreceiptof the e-mail.sinceit was not her procedure.('l-r.222).
Kevin Rison.an EmployeeServiceManager.wasalsocallcdto testifyby the Agcncy. I{e
cclnflrntcd
tliat he was awarcol'thc irrvcstigation
conccrningOlliccr Philllipsancldcscribcdhis
attemptto detcrmineits statusin .lunc2008. Accordingto thc witness.he contactcdthc SIA and
subsequcntly
lcarncdthatthcinvestigation
o1'Ofllcer
Phillips"wasr.rot
sustained
anclliewasallowed
at tlratpointto comebackto work." (Tr.226-227).
'fhe
witnesswasqllestioncd
about"temporary
assigrrmcnts
fbr duty''('fAD). IIe wasaware
ol-twoothereniployees
who hadbccnassigncd
to thc cAB for tcnrporary
cluty.althor,rgh
bothwcrc
assigncdlbr Workcr's Contpcnsation
iniurics. ('fr.227). On cross-cxanrination.
Mr. Itison
acknowledgcd
thatno stall'mcmbcrundcrinvestigation.
otherthanOfllcerPhillips,wasplaccdat
theliont deskof thc CAB to monitorphones.(Tr.250).
Mr. Risonu,asalsoquestioned
aboutOfflcerPhillips'requestfbr a "hardship"transf-er
to
Atlantaduringthe periodol-his reassignnrent.
As the witnessrelated.LJSPAtlantalircilitywas
restructuring
("fionr a penitcntiary.... to a mediuntsccurityinstitution")and not hiring ofllcers
duringthatperiod.(-l'r.228).
25. As sheexplained,
the actualletteris not sent. But a notiflcationto "stop by thc SIA officesat their
c o n v e n i e n c c a n d i f t h e y h a v c a t t y q u c s t i c - r n s t h e ynctoc ua lnddclaplul t r n y c x t c n s i o n o n t h c r(c- .f "r . 2 2 l ) .
C O L E M A N F E D E R A L C O R R E C T I O N C E N T E R - a n d - L O C A L 5 0 6 .A F G E
-17-
The witnesswas further qr.restioned
about the overtime hours worked at the Complex
preceding.
andduring,thetime lramethatOfllcerPhillipswasreassigned.
Accordingto Mr. Rison,
therewas$900.000paidin "cttstody"overtimeat thc ComplcxbetweenOctobcr2007andFcbruary
2008.but "only" $558.000paidin overtimebetweenMarch2008and.luly2008.rn1't'r.Z::;.With
specilrcref'erence
to Oflicer Pliillips' overtimeand overtimeincontebetweenOctobcr2007 and
February2008, the witnessdemonstrated
that the Gricvantearnedmore than $17.000fbr
approximately
450 overtimehours. (Tr.236andU-5).
'l-lic
Agencyintroducccl
tltetestimony
of tlic olllccr who contplcted
thc invcstigation
lirr thc
- Ofllcc
OfIce o1'lnternal
Allirirs.rTWendallDulay.a SpccialAgcntwith thc Departnicnt
of'.lusticc
o1'lnspector
perlbrmsintcrnalallairs'invcstigations.
Generalr*,
Investigations
adclrcss
bothcriminal
andadministrative
issues.('fr.255). His investigation
ol'OflicerPhillips.concerning
theallegation
of "the possibleintroductiono1-contraband
involvinga cell phone,"was conducted
on March6.
'l-hc
2008. (1'r.255).
witnessacknowlcclgecl
thathc cloesnot havcthc authorityto clcclinca casc.
nor did hc ref'crto Olliccr l)hillips'cascas "a simplenristake
." ('l'r.258).Ilowcver,wliile not
having authorityto nrakc a clecisionrcgardirrgthc characterization
ol' the case.SA Dulay
acknowledgedtliat he is asked fbr a recommendation
by the "deciding olllcial" (of the U.S.
Attorney'soflice). (1'r.260). Finally.the witnessrecognized
that the LJ.S. Attorney'soflice
decidcdnot to do anythingwith the case.("fr.260).
26.As Mr. Risontestifled,overtirne
wasreduced
dueto incrcasing
staffin thecorrectional
services.As the
witncssacknowledged
clncross-exarnination,
overtinrcligLrres
rcf-lccted
only "correctional"
hclurs
andwere
actuallygreaterthandentonstrated.
(Tr.245).
27. The Agencyintroduced
testimonyr
througha telephonicconnection,
basedon the officerattendinga
trainingscssion
at anotherlocation.(-l'r.25
I ).
28. "lnternalAffairs". ('Ir.255)
C O L E M A NF E D E R A LC O R R E C T I O N
C E N T E R- a n d -L O C A L5 0 6 A
. FGE
- l8-
RobertWestbrook.a SpecialAgentwith the Oflce of InternalAflairs (OIA), investigates
misconduct
allegations
in the BOP. In that capacity,he conductedthe investigation
of Offlcer
Phillipson May 5. 2008.re(Tr.263and 'l'r. 265). Mr. Westbrookrelatcdthat hc gatheredthc
infbrrration.
returncdto hisofllcc in Washington
andwrotehis llnal report.r"I Ic wasawarcthatthe
chargeswerenot sr.rstaincd
and.accordingly,thc reportwas scntto Colcnran(on .fuly 2, 2008)fbr
llnal action.('l'r.266).
The flnal witnessintroduccdby the AgencywasAndrew I'cmples,an AssistantEducation
Supervisor
at USP 2. Mr.
-femples
identifredthe email(fiom the wardens)issuingdirections
on
intplementing
(seeA-8). He alsotestifiedthathe supervised
staffsearches.
andconducted
security
searches
of staffentcringtheinstitution.
(Tr.273). On dLrtythenrorningo f 1heinciclent.
Mr. Temples
described
thc searchol'OlflcerI,hillips:
. . . 7 : 3 0 . 7 : 4 5. . . w h c n O l l l c c r P h i l l i p sa r r i v c d. . . p l a c c dh i s i t e n r so n t h e X - r a y
machineandhadhandrnea bag.whichappeared
to havea gallonol'rnilkanda box
of Ititz crackcrs.
... I took thc bag.recognizing
thatit waslbod itenrs... I accepted
it
andsetit on the counter.
Thenat thaltime I pickedup thewand. I wentovcrandclcaredMs. 'l'e.jcra
andcame
back. While I still had the wand in rny hand,Mr. Phillipshad clearcdthe metal
d e t c c t o rI.- i L r s t t o o k t h c w a n d a n d l w e n t a c r e s s b o t h s i d c sboalc' t ho ec l c a r i t .
Basically.
whcn I ranthewandagainstthc sidewith tlie nrilk it did not alert. And I
ran it alongthe sidewith the box o1'crackers
and it did. At that timc I askcclMr.
Phillipsto emptythe contentsof the bag.
...oncethe milk cleared,he setit down.... he washesitating- - and I said"Could
you rcnlovewhat'sin the box?" So he openstlie box and he pulledout a sleeveof
crackers
andheld up. Of courseI usedthewandand itcniscleared....
29.Thepurpose
of SA Westbrook's
investigation
wasto deternrine
il'OfllccrPhillipslradviolatedrulesand
regulations
by havirrga cell phoneat the institution.(Tr.266).
30. The witnessalsotestifledthathe gavethe r,varden
his prelirninary
assessment
in May 2008"that I
rvouldnot be sustaining
thc charge."('l'r.27l).
C O L E M A NF E D E R A LC O R R E C T I O N
C E N T E R- a n d -L O C A L5 0 6 .A F G E
-t9-
Testimonypresented
by the Agencyclearlydemonstrated
a bonaflde concernfbr Complex
securityandtheintegrityof theworkingenvironment.As a result.a setof rulesandprocedurcs
wcre
implentented
lbr thc prevention
of contraband
entcringthc institution.Tlte Agency'sintroduction
o1'Ofllcer
l-emples'tcstimonyrcvealedIiissuspicion
arisingthror.rgh
discovcryof a cell plioncand
charger.
locatcdwithin a tightlyn,oLrnd
plasticbag.within an opcnbox ol'llitz crackcrs.
withina
plasticbagcarriedby Olliccr I'}hillips
ashe passcd
throughthc securitypointandattemptccl
to cntcr
theinstitution
on February10,2008.As thisArbitratorvicr.vcd
thccircumstances,
Ollcer'l'emples'
suspicion
wasneitherunreasonable
nor unjustiliedandhe took rcsponsible
stepsin rcportingthe
discovcry.
TheAgencyalsointroducecl
eviclcnce
to rcvcaltlial imnrecliate
stepswcrctakento allcviatc
secr"rrity
concenrsby rerrovingOlirccr Phillipsliom liis rcgularassignnrcnt
and placinghinr in
'l'he
anotherassignmcnt. disct)very.
suspicion
andreportol'theccll pl-ronc
andchargcrcntcringtl-re
itistitr'rtion
leadto an invcstigation
whicli. in thc belicl'ol'this Arbitrator.was pcrlbrrleclwithin
appropriate
guidelincs.Ilowcvcr.it is ol'signilicantnotc that thc invcstigativc
rcportsand OIG
deternrination
wasthatthecharges/allcgations
againstOllicerI)hillipswcrc unlbuncled.O1'grcatcr
signilicance
wasthe fact that the FcderalBureauo1'Prisons
closedthc case. (SecU-4). Ol'llcer
Phillipswasreturnedto his rcgulardutyassignmcnt
in .lunc2008.
I'{owever.in the opiniono1'thisArbitrator,while the Agencytook appropriate
stcpsin
fbllowingadministrative
procedurcs
and lirlfilling its managenrent
obligations,Ofllcer Phillips
"innocent"of thc chargesand wasentitlcdto be trcatcdlirirlyand cquitably.'l'hus,thc
remained
question
remains.
whcntheAgcncyacteclto
renloveOfllcerPhillipslioni his"security"assignment,
did the Agencycorrespondingly
treatthe Grievantappropriatelyin reassigninghim to CAts and
denyingOflcer I'}hillipsovcrtimeopportunities.
C O L E M A N F E D E R A L C O R R E C T I O N C E N T E R - a n d - L O C A L 5 0 6 .A F G E
-21-
...andthenhetakestheothersleeveof cracers.
whicli I wanded.which cleared.And.
again,therewas sor.ne
delay.... So againI was waitingfbr him to continue.At that
time he reachedin andhc pullcdor-rt
a bagsuchasthis. It wastightly wound. When
he pulledit out, he startedto unwrapit andheldit open. At thattime I lookedin and
I sawa cell phoncanda charger,
...assoonashe pulledthc bagout,he did say,"Oh, I lbrgotthatwasthcre."And of
coursc.I am givinghint the benefrto1-the
doubt. So I said."You needto go ahead
andtakethatto your vehicle."andhedid. Oncehecamcbackin he clearedthe ntetal
detectorandthat was it. ('1r.274-279).
Mr.
'l'emplcs
testillcdthathc rcportedthc incidcnt"becauscI hadsr.rspicion."
(-l'r.280).
He
prepared
a memo.('fr.281andA-9).
O n c r o s s - e x a m i n a t i oMnr.. ' l ' c n t p l e si d c n t i f i e dI)aragraph 3 ol' thc scarch procedurcs
("lrmployees
will be allowcdto takc any timesnot ablc to clcar back") and acknowlcclgcdthat
Olllccr Phillips"did contplyandtakcthc itcm to his car." ( ' l ' r . 2 9 1) .
OPINION
The burdenof proof in tlie instantmatter restedwith thc Llnion to establish,by clear
evidence.
that.by reassigning
Olllcer Phillipsto work outsidethc inslitutiondr.rring
the pcriodhc
wersbeinginvestigatccl
lor liis conductol'l"cbruary
10. 2008anclby clcnyirrg
hinrthc opportunity
to
rvorkovertimebetweetr
liebruaryI I . 2008and.luncI 8. 2008,thcEmployeractionswercunjustified
andttrtwarrantcd.
In firrthcrance
ol'its burdeno1'prool'.
thc IJnionpriniarilyrclieclon testimonial
evidencc.
ln the opinion of this Arbitrator, the Union's proof-swere reliable. Offlcer Phillips
fbrthrightly describedhis removal fiorn the institution and ultimate reassignmentto phone
monitoringin theadministration
building'slobby/reception
area.He testifledto beingembarrassed
andhumiliateO
d .t h e r ' s . i o i n e d i n h i s v i e w t h a t i t w a s a p o s t s t r i c t l y e s t a b l i s h e d l b r J o h n P h i l l i p s .
C O L E M A N F E D E R A L C O R R E C T T O NC E N T E R - a n t l - L O C A L 5 0 6 .A F G E
-20-
When he was returnedto work afier the incident.Ofllce Phillips expressedhow he was
subjectto "co-workers... sontewould speakandkeepmovingon. ...-iustas if ... I'm goingto kind
of avoidthisguy."(Tr.43).Morcover,OlllcerPhillipsrevealcd
hisembarrassment
anclliumiliation
in beingassignedto a centraladministrative
buildinganclthe lobby areawherche was in view of
otherofficersandadministrators.As the Union Presidentof1bred."it's not typicalfbr an ofllcerto
bc in theCAB buildingfiont lobbyarea."rr(1'r.86).Furthertestinrony
ackrrowlcdgcd
tliatOlllcer
I)hillipswastold not to sign-r,rp
lbr overtirneanddenicdthc opporlunityto work overtimchours.
'lestimony
ol'bothSpecialAgentslurtheracknowledgcd
that,cluringthr:sameperiodoftimc,
OlJlcerPhillipsgavefull cooperation
duringtheirinvestigations.
Oddly,while AgentWestbrook
gavethcwardenhis preliniinaryassessmcnt
in May 2008(Tr.271).Officer Phillipswasnotreturncd
to dLrtyuntil latcJLrne
2008.And. despitcbcingrcturncdto duty in .lunc200ti,ncithcrhc nor thc
Unionreceivcdnoticethecascwascloscduntil Fcbruary2009.
'l'hus.
it is this Arbitrator's determinationthat, while it nray have been reasonablefbr the
Agency to remove Olllcer Phillips frorn his Tower 7 assignntentand "the centerol.tlic rccreation
yards.in thc ccntero1'thcinncr conrpouncl"('l-r.172).it was unrcasonablclbr thc Agcncy to assign
Olflcer Phillipsto a locationol'embarrassment
and hr-rnriliatiorr
and unwarrantcdfbr thc Ascncy tcr
dcny him working overtime fbr 121 days. l'here were denials that any other employeesor prior
allegationsof similar conduct were treatedin the sam manneras Ofllcer Phillips.
3 1 . A s t e s t i t t t o t t yc o t t f l n t t e d .l i ' o n t l o b b y d u t y r v a so n l y u s e d i n t w t r p r e v i o r r sa s s i g n r n e n t sw, h c n t w o o t h e r
employeeswlro were unable to r.vorkaround inmatesor could not lrave contact r,vithinmates.The exantDle
citedwereentployees
on workrnan'scor.npensation
or shorttern.r
disabilities.('l'r.86-87)
C O L E M A NF E D E R A LC O R R E C T I O N
C E N T E R- a n d -L O C A L5 0 6 .A F G E
t1
DespiteWardenDrew's earnestcommentsregardingsecurityconcerns(seepage14of this
Award)andthe reasoned
removalof the Grievantfiorn his rcgularassignment.
this Arbitratorflnds
that Oflccr Phillips receivcdtreatnrentdillbrent liom othcr employccsassignedto thc central
administration
buildinglobby.ln addition.whilereassigned
fiornhisregularduties.OfllcerPhillips
wasdeniedovertimeopportunities.Again,therecordrevealedthatotherswerenot deniedovertime
opportunities
when rcassigncd
liom regulardutiesor unclerinvcstigiition.In thc vieu' ol'tl-ris
Arbitrator.thcrcwasno rcasonto deny.prccludeor prevcntOllicer Phillipsliom sirnilarovertimc
opportunities.
Finally,thisrecordclearlyestablished
that.althoughtheAgencyclosedOfflccrPhillip'scase
in .luly 2008. he was not issuednoticethat the allcgationol- "unauthorized
clcctronicdevicc
introduction"
wasdctermincd
to bc unlbunded
andthecaseclosccllbr nearlvcisht nronthsalierhc
was rcturncdto work in .lune2008.rr Offlcer Pliillips liveclr-rndcr
a cloud o1'sr-rspicion
and
experienced
anxietyand concernfbr his future. It was not until one week prior to the arbitration
hearingthat tlie Union and Offlcer Phillipslearnedthc "casewas closecl." In thc vicw ol-this
Arbitrator.Olllccr I)hillipswas Lrnrcasonably
sub.iected
to onc-yearo1'pcrsonal
anguishlbr an
allegation.
detcrmined
within lclLrr
months.to be "unlbundcd."r''
32. Indecd,tlreAgencyprescnted
testirnony
thatOfficerPhillipswassenttwo ernailsin July2008,advising
hirnthata letterawaitedhirn in tlreSpecialInvestigations
Agents'of fice. The witnesstestifledthatshedid
not recallcheckingtocottllnttreceiptof the e-mail,sinceit wasnot her procedure.(1-r.222).
33. Thereshouldbe Ito questionthat the experience
"darnagcd
the qualityof lif-eand (Ofiicer Phillips')
family in Atlanta."('l'r.43).FurtherconsiderthatOfficerPhillipsrequested
a hardshiptransferto Atlanta,
basedolt his lather'stenninalillness(pancreatic
and liver cancer).Ilis firthcr'ssubsequent
deathand his
motlrerlivingalonewassimilarlycited.(Tr.44andseeU-5). TheGrievantrecognized
that,because
he was
underinvestigation,
a traltsl-cr
wasnot possiblcuntil the investigation
clearedhirrr.('l'r.46).
COLEMANFEDERALCORRECTIONCENTER-and-LOCAL 506.AFCE
-23-
How theAgencycanclaimthat"we fully understand
theanxietyandapprehension
thatstaff
feelswhenan allegation
is madeagainstthcm" (writtenin .luly2008.six nionthspriorto its receipt
by theUnionandOlllcerPhillips)strainsthecredibilityol'thisArbitrator.'fhe lelteris conclr-rsively
'l'l.re
a versewithout substance.
words have meaning,but the eflect is ethereal.And, while the
administration
prol-essed
its actionagainstOfllcer Phillipswas "to maintainthe integrityof our
workingenvironment
...."theclairl soundsbetterthanits application.Evenif overlyconcerned
lbr
"security"..iust
thrccntonthsafierthc incidcnt(May 2008)thc Wardenwasadvisedtlic allegation
was unfbunded.While the ovcrwhelnringconccrnfbr safbtyof thc institutionwas rcpeatedly
expressed.
how coLrld
thecorresponding
announcement
ol'theinvestigation
beingclosedbesilent'/
It is the impressionof this Arbitratorthat Oflicer Phillips.with a pcrsonnelrecord
unblcmishcd
by priordisciplincanda work recordo1'consistent
ovcrtinre,
couldliavcpropcrlybccn
placedin a positionwhcrehecontinr-rcd
his correctional
perlbrmance
andbc availablefbr reasonablc
overtime.The Agency's"sincereappreciation"
fbr OfllcerI'hillip's"cooperation"
in bringinghis
caseto a closewas not ntatchedwitli appropriate
prr)ltounccmrcnt.
Instcad,by treatingOfflcer
Phillipsin a mannerlessthanl'airandccluitablc.
thc Agcncy'sactioncanonly bc charactcrizcd
as
unwarranted
and unjr"rstilicd.
l'he Unionhasestablished.
by clearevidence,
that,by themannerof reassignment
of Oflicer
Phillipsandthedenialof overtirnefbr hisallegedconducto1'February
10.2008.wasLrnreasonable.
Morcover.by denyingOfllccrPhillipstheopportunity
to work ovcrtimcbctwccnFebruary1l, 2008
andJune18,2008,the Agencycausedthe Grievantto losesubstantial
overtimcopportunities
and
income.
C O L E M A N F E D E R A L C O R R E C T I O NC E N T E R - a n d -L O C A L 5 0 6 .A F G E
-21-
As this Arbitratorhasdetermined,
the Unionestablished.
by clearandconvincingevidence,
thattheAgency'sactionsin removingOfficerPhillipsfiom theinstitutionandprecluding
him from
oveftinteopportunitywcrc unjustilled.unwarranted.
disparatcand unreasonable.'ta
Next, this Arbitratorturnsto the remedyfbr the unjustifiedand unwarranted
actionstaken
againstOfllcer Phillips.r5With the directcontractauthorityto issucan appropriatercmcdy,this
Arbitratordircctsa compcnsatory.
monetaryaward. The sinrpleand corrcctrnetliodof rcntcdyin
the instantnrattersliallbc an itwarcllor lostovertinteopportunitics.
calcLrlatccl
by pastrccordsol'
perfbrntance
and in responseto tlic actualmonetarylosso1-inconre
by Officer Phillips.
Whatwerethe damagesincurredby OflicerPhillips'/The recordestablished
thatOficer
Phillipswas ofT regularduty statr-rs
fbr l2l daysand.cluringtliat periodo1'tirnc,lost repeated
overtintc
opportunities.
l-hcLJnion
alsodcrlonstratecl
thatovcrtinreopportunitics
wcrca rcgularand
routincassignment
in thc institutionandOlllcerI'}hillips
prcviouslyworkcclan extcnsivcamountol'
regularandvoluntaryovertiureshilis. BetweenOctober2007and l;ebruary2008,Ol'liccrl,hillips
earnedmorethan$ 17.000fbr approximately
450 overtimehours(calculatedat the overtimerateof
$36perhour).(Tr.236andtJ-5). Therewasno contention
thattheGricvanteverrefusedovertimc.
-l'hc
34.
tertnof "outrageous"could be added,whcn charactcrizing
nranagerncnt's
trcatrnent
ol'Ofllccr
Phillipsandconsiderirrg
thc Grievantrvorkedsix r.r.ronths
(aficrreinstaterncnt)
unclcra ckrudol-arrxiety
and
suspicion
befbrereceiptof actualnoticethatthecharges
(o1"'Unauthorizecl
tlectronicDevicelntroductiorr")
wercdetermined
by theOfliceof lntcrnalAflairsto beunfbunded
anclthecascagainsthinrclosecl.Ikrwever,
because
this Arbitratoris ernpowered
to remedythe treatrnent
of Otflcer Phillipsthrougha damagcawarcl,
lufthercharacterization
will be avoided.
'l-he
35. Mcetingtheflrst prongofthe "two-prongtest"
advanced
by the Agency.
Agcncyhadarguecl
that,
because'the
personnel
actionswerenot unjustified
or unwarranted'
underlaw Codeof FederalRegulations
5 C.F.R.550.803(seeFootnote4. above),tlteUnioncouldnot provethatOfflccr PhillipswoLrldhavebeen
of-fered
specificovertimeassignments
on specificdates.It wasthe positionof the Agencythatthe Union's
dernaltd
wasspeculative
andthe ovcrtimeopporturrities
hadbeerrnrarkedlydecreased.
COLEMANFEDERALCORRECTIONCENTER-and-LOCAL 506.AFCE
-25-
Likewise.Ms. White conf-irmed
therewere972 overtimeopportunitiesduringthe periodof
his"denial",althoughnot all wouldbeavailable
to Oft-icer
Phillips.r6(Tr.200).Shccalculated
that
OfficcrPhillipslost72 hoursol'overtirne
opportunity
cachweekduringthe pcriodIrebruary
11'r'to
Junel9'h.2008.As thc rccordrcllected.Ms. Whitebasecl
on hercalculation
on "rnaximurr"lost
ovcrtimeopportunitics,
witli O1'llcerPhillipslosingflvc overtintcopportLrnities
duringhis work
weekandtwo on eachday the Grievantwasoll'work (assuminghe workeddoubleshilison eachof
his two daysofl). At cight (8) hoLrrs
per shifi,Ms. Whitecalculated
that Offlcer Phillipslost 72
h o r t r s o f o v c f t i r n e p c r w c c( 'kl '.r . 2 1 0 )O. f f i c c r P h i l l i p s w a s p a i d S 2 4 . l 0 p e r h o u r . c a p p c c l a t $ 3 6 .
Irorpurposes
of rentedialcalculation.
thisArbitratoracknowledgcs
thatthc GrievantwoLrld
not haveworkedcvcry availablcovcrtinrchor,rr
(purportcdly.
T2 hours)cachwcck. At thc sanrc
time,bascdon his prior pcrsonncland payrccords,it is not unrcasonablc
to conclLrdc
thatOflrcer
Phillipswor-rld
havcworkecllbrty (40) hourso1'overtinre
eachweck cluringthe periodbetwecn
FebruaryI l'r'and.lune18'h.2008.And, giventhattheGrievantdid not work, this Arbitratoris of
theviewthatcalculating
his damages
at his regular.straight-time
hourlyrateof $24.10(asopposed
to his overlimerateol$36 pcr hour)is botliconscrvativc
anclr-norc
rcasonablc.
As such.thisArbitratorcalculatcs
anddcternrir.rcs
thatOlllccr Phillipslost$9(r4ol'ovcrtintc
opportunity
( 17)wcckperiocl
eachwcckancl.duringthescvcntccn
ol'reerssignrlcnt
withoutovcrtinte
opportunity,heor$16,3tt8.00.'l'hisArbitratordirectstheBr.rrcauofPrisonstomakeOlliccr.lohnn
Phillipswhole fbr the unjustifiedand unwarranted
personnclactionin the fbrm o1-conlpensatory
damages
in tlie amountof $16,388.00.Paymentshallbe madewithin a reasonable
periodof time,
not to exceedthirty (30) daysfiorn the dateof this Award.
36. Wlrenasked,Ms. White acknowledged
thata totalof 1,776hoursof overlirreoccurredwhenOfficer
Pltillipswasdcnicdovertirncopportunityduringthe periodol'frebruaryI I'r'throughJunel9'h2008.
COLEMANFEDERALCOLRECTIONCENTER-and-LOCAL 506.AFGE
-26-
In summation,basedon the record.this Arbitratorfrndsthatthe AgencyviolatedtheMaster
Agreement
by reassigning
Officer.lohnny
Phillipsto work outsidetheInstitutiondr.rring
theperiod
he wasbeinginvestigated
fbr his concluct
of February10.2008andby denyingOlllccr Phillipsthc
opportunity
to r,vorkovctlimcbetwccnIrcbruary1l. 2008and.Iunc18.200f1.While theAgcncy's
dccisionto removeOllicer Pliillipsliom his regularassignmcnt
waswithin its management
rights
underthe MasterAgrcementand operationalprocedures.
this Arbitrator finds that the Agency's
actionsin reassigning
OflicerPhillipsto thepositionoutsidethe institutionandby denyingOfllcer
Phillipstheopportnnity
to work ovcrlimewasbothunjustifledandunwarrantcd.
Thcscfindingsand
detenninations
werercachedby clearanclcclnvincing
produccdat hcaring.
cviclencc
Whcrcthc Agcncyntayilrguethatit is reasonablc
to rcrnovc.rcassign
anddcnyovcrtintcto
arrofllccrdr"rriltg
thcpcriodol'anitrtcrnalinvestigation.
thercnrustbc rccognition
thatnranagcment's
decision
docsnotsolelyrestwith operational
concerns
ol'theAgencybr.rt
analyzed
anclbalanced
with
the potentialall-ects
on the individualemployeeand the consideration
of the MasterAgrcenrent.
Herein.theAgencyleaptto enfbrccits secr-rrity
concerns.
but took actionswhich did not consider
theefl'ccts
on theindividualemployecnor his entitlcments
unclcrthc MastcrAgrccnrurt.ThLrs,
by
its decisionto removcOlllcer I'}hillips.
reassign
him anothcrbuildingwithoLrtthc opportunityfbr
overtime.ultimatclydctcrmincdto be uniustilledand unwarranted.
the Agencyactionsleadto a
contractviolationanddamagcsto the individualemployee.'l'heAward ol'this Arbitratorattempts
to makeOllrcer.lohnny
Phillipsw,hole,to theextentpossiblc.fbr his losses.
C O L E M A N F E D E R A L C O R R E C T I O N C E N T E R - a n d - L O C A L 5 0 6 .A F G E
,,1
In consonance
with the proof'sand upon the record.this Arbitrator herebyrendersthe
following:
AWARI)
FMCS CaseNo. 08-56532
l.
2.
'fhe
Agency.as Employer.violatedthe Master Agreementby reassigning
ComectionOllrcer .lohnnyPhillips,thc Grievant.to work outsidetlie
institutiondr-rring
the periodhe was beinginvcstigated
fbr his conductol'
February10, 2008 and by denyinghim the opportunityto work overtime
betwccr.r
Irebruary1l. 2008and.lunc18.2008.
'l-hc
violationof the MastcrAgreenrent
is bascdon tliis Arbitrator'sfinding
thattheAgency'sactionswercuniustilledand unwarranted.
3.
1'hegrievarnce
submittcd
by theUnionon beliall'oI'Correction
OlllccrJohnny
Phillips.the Grievant.shallbe sustained.
4.
As thc retnedyin this matter.the Agencyshallcontpcnsatc
Olllccr.lohnny
Pliillips lbr the uniustillcdand unwarrantcd
rcassignment
and dcnial of
overtinteopportr"rnities
by conrpensating
his lossol'ovcrtinrcincontcin thc
a m o u n ot f $ 1 7 . 3 8 8 . 0 0
a .sc a l c u l a t ei dn t h ea b o v eO p i n i o n . .
4.
This Arbitratorsl.rallretained.jLrrisdiction
o1'tliis nrattL-ras to questions
relating1oapplicationof the remedy
Datcd:July24, 2009
Shor-t
Ilills. New Jersey
.1. J. PIERSON, Esq.,Arbitrator
STA'l'trOF NIIW JBRSIIY)
:SS
COUNTY OF ESSI]X
)
l. J. .1.PIITRSON.Esq.. ot.tmy oatli. do attestto being the person who has executedthe
fbregoing instrument and issr"red
the above Award on.luly 25.2009 fbr delivery to the parties.
J. .1.Pierson,Attorney-at-[.aw.Stateol'NewJersey
C O L E M A N F E D E R A L C O R R E C T I O NC E N T E R - a n d -L O C A L 5 0 6 .A F C E
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