Arbitrator Agrees with Attorney Ryan that Town of Seekonk Improperly Cut Employee Hours To Avoid Benefits

Unions frequently allow employees and employers the flexibility to establish changing schedules and to have both full-time and part-time options. Here, Local 16031 of the United Steelworkers negotiated with the Town of Seekonk to establish three categories of employees: full-time employees, who work between 33 and 40 hours a week and are eligible for full benefits; part-time employees who work between 20 and 33 hours a week and are eligible for proportionate benefits (based upon how many hours they work out of 33); and part-time employees who work less than 20 hours and are ineligible for benefits.

Here, the Town of Seekonk Administrator Shawn Cadime decided that the Town could unilaterally force employees to work either a 35 hour a week schedule or a 19.5-hour schedule. The Town felt it had the right to effectively eliminate the benefit-eligible part-time position and to permanently reduce the hours of many employees. The Union disagreed, and demanded that an independent arbitrator settle the dispute.

He agreed with the Union that the collective bargaining agreement did not permit the Town's action. Rather, the CBA was intended to acknowledge that hours may fluctuate or change based upon need. He ruled that the Town had to make employees whole who lost wages and benefits because of the change.