NCJ Number
93873
Date Published
1984
Length
60 pages
Annotation
This monograph discusses the role of labor arbitration in resolving grievances related to the employment rights of employees with chronic or age-related health problems who are presumed unable to meet their job requirements.
Abstract
The analysis centers on 144 labor arbitration cases, most of them dealing with issues related to health and job retention. The discussion first considers the general factors affecting medically related arbitration cases. The social and medical context encompasses the nature of advances in medicine and technology and criteria used in evaluating employability: the nature of the disease or handicap, the nature of treatment, personal factors, the nature of the work, and environmental and socioeconomic factors. The contractual and legal setting encompasses courts' postures in relation to arbitration and the application of laws pertaining to age and handicap as well as the Vocational Rehabilitation Act. The duty of fair representation is also a factor in the legal setting. The second section of the report considers issues specifically encountered in the 144 published arbitration decisions (1967-83) that form the basis of the study. The issues examined are contractual provisions affecting health-impaired grievants, medical evidence and testimony, seniority and the grievants' work record, and characteristics of awards and remedies. Other factors considered are receipt of workers' compensation awards, application of blanket employment policies, misrepresentation of medical history by grievants, and lack of cooperation by grievants. Recommendations are offered. An appendix and 51 bibliographic listings are provided.