THEODORE BASS, APPELLANT,
v.
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, APPELLEE
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Theodore Bass, a public employee who is both a career service employee and union member, appealed his disciplinary action first through union grievance procedures and then filed a civil service appeal. The court affirmed PERC's dismissal of the civil service appeal because Florida law prohibits employees from pursuing both grievance and civil service appeal remedies simultaneously.
A career service employee who is also a union member cannot use both a civil service appeal and a grievance procedure; the employee must choose one avenue for relief. PERC properly dismissed Bass's civil service appeal because he had already pursued the grievance procedure first.
[1] A career service employee who is a member of a collective bargaining unit may choose between the civil service appeal procedure or a grievance procedure established under § 447.401, Fla. …
[2] Pursuing a grievance procedure under a collective bargaining agreement precludes a career service employee from subsequently filing a civil service appeal.
Previewing 2 of 3 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“A career service employee shall have the option of utilizing the civil service appeal procedure or a grievance procedure established under this section, but such employee cannot use both a civil service appeal and a grievance procedure.”
The statutory provision from § 447.401, Fla. Stat., that provides the legal basis for PERC's dismissal and the court's affirmance.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceTheodore Bass was a career service employee of the Department of Transportation and a member of a collective bargaining unit represented by the Americ…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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PER CURIAM.
The appellant, Theodore Bass, seeks review of an order of the Public Employees Relations Commission (PERC) dismissing his appeal to that body of a disciplinary action taken against him by his employer, the Department of Transportation (DOT). The crux of Mr. Bass’s complaint is that he was wrongfully disciplined by DOT on the basis of errors or mistakes made, at least in part, by fellow employees. Because of the procedural history of this case, and because of the provisions of § 447.401, Fla. Stat., we are unable to address the merits of Mr. Bass’s complaint, and must affirm.
The record indicates that Mr. Bass is both a career service employee of the DOT and a member of a collective bargaining unit of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (the union). Upon being notified by DOT of its intent to discipline him, Mr. Bass sought the assistance of his union representative and filed an official grievance form authorizing the union to represent him in connection with his grievance. Only after the union representative was unable to work out a settlement of the dispute satisfactory to Mr. Bass was the instant civil service appeal filed.
Section 447.401, Fla. Stat., prescribing grievance procedures for public employee labor organizations, provides, in pertinent part:
A career service employee shall have the option of utilizing the civil service appeal procedure or a grievance procedure established under this section, but such employee cannot use both a civil service appeal and a grievance procedure.
Under § 447.401, a career service public employee who is also a union member may contest a disciplinary action taken by his or her employer either through the union or by filing a civil service appeal, but may not pursue both avenues for relief. The basis for PERC’s order dismissing Mr. Bass’s case was the fact that Mr. Bass had previously sought relief using the grievance procedure established by collective bargaining contract, and thus was precluded from also prosecuting a civil service appeal. Given the above quoted provisions of § 447.401, PERC’s determination that Mr. Bass’s civil service appeal would have to be dismissed was not only proper, it was required. Accordingly, said decision must be, and hereby is, AFFIRMED.
SHIVERS and ZEHMER, JJ., and PEARSON, TILLMAN (Ret.), Associate Judge, concur.
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Sublett v. Dist. Sch. Bd. of Sumter Cnty., 617 So. 2d 374 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993)…support its argument that the existence of the contractual procedure contained in the collective bargaining agreement barred Sublett’s right to an administrative hearing do not control in this instance. In both Bass v. Department of Transportation, 516 So. 2d 972 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987) and Remsen v. University of Florida, 429 So. 2d 1228 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983), the aggrieved employee was subject to an express waiver of one remedy by using another. In Public Employees Relations Commission v. District School Board o…
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Metro. Dade Cnty. v. Dade Cnty. Ass'n OF Firefighters, 575 So. 2d 289 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991)…ublic employee who is also a union member may contest a disciplinary action taken by his or her employer either through the union or by filing a civil service appeal, but may not pursue both avenues for relief.” Bass v. Department of Transportation, 516 So. 2d 972, 973 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987). Accordingly, we reverse the final summary judgment with instructions to the trial court to vacate the award and enter judgment in favor of appellant.…
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Fraternal Order OF Police v. City OF Miami, 598 So. 2d 89 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992)…Circuit Court did not have jurisdiction to entertain the declaratory judgment action below. See Metropolitan Dade County v. Dade County Association of Firefighters, Local 1403, 575 So. 2d 289 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991); Bass v. Department of Transportation, 516 So. 2d 972 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987); Koenig v. Tyler, 360 So. 2d at 104; Heath v. Central Truck Lines, Inc., 195 So. 2d at 588. Affirmed.…
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