In what appears to be a first for a Maryland appellate court, in September the Court of Special Appeals vacated a labor arbitration decision on the grounds that it violated public policy. The court held that the arbitrator’s decision that a civilian police employee had a right to union representation during a criminal investigation, encroached on the ability to detect and investigate crimes and therefore violated the public policy of effective law enforcement. In the same ruling, the court also wrestled with the level of authority an arbitrator has to review employment decisions under a public-sector collective bargaining agreement and held that unless parties bargain for constraints, an arbitrator has broad authority to evaluate evidence and law and to fashion a remedy. 

Republished with permission.