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St. Lawrence County employee fired by Republican elections commissioner will not be reinstated or receive back pay

Posted 5/4/16

By JIMMY LAWTON CANTON -- A St. Lawrence County elections employee who was fired by the Republican elections commissioner will not be reinstated to her post or receive back payment, according to …

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St. Lawrence County employee fired by Republican elections commissioner will not be reinstated or receive back pay

Posted

By JIMMY LAWTON

CANTON -- A St. Lawrence County elections employee who was fired by the Republican elections commissioner will not be reinstated to her post or receive back payment, according to Judge Jerome Richard’s Friday ruling.

Commissioner Tom Nichols fired former county employee Nicole Maxner in January. Following her termination Civil Service Employees Association filed a grievance claiming she should be reinstated to her job and receive back payments.

Prior to termination, Maxner paid union dues, voted on union matters, and considered herself a member of the collective bargaining unit covered by the 2015-2019 collective bargaining agreement between St. Lawrence County and CSEA.

On Jan. 12, 2016, CSEA filed a grievance seeking reinstatement and back pay for Maxner, to otherwise make her whole.

On Feb. 4, the CSEA filed a notice of intent to proceed to arbitration. Both the grievance, and demand for arbitration allege Maxner's termination was in contravention of the tenure provisions of the collective bargaining agreement, But St. Lawrence County filed a petition to block arbitration.

The county argued that Maxner was not eligible for arbitration and that the collective bargaining agreement can’t circumvent elections law, which allows commissioners to appoint and remove employees as they see fit.

The CEA however argued that the court did not have the authority to stay the arbitration process and also alleged that the county had violated pass practice when “Maxner was not placed back on the county payroll after 30 days without pay.

But Richards ruled that elections law supersedes the bargaining agreement and was not entitled to the same protections as other county employees.

“Because Maxner was subject to removal at the pleasure of the board of elections, she was neither a permanent employee, nor a competitive class employee. Therefore, the rights she seeks to exercise under Article XVI, Section 4 of the CBA are not available to her,” Richards said in his ruling.

Richards ruled that the CSEA was “permanently enjoined from filing any further demand for arbitration” related to the claim and denied “restoration to payroll and payment of all back wages and benefits” for Maxner.