§ 1017. Grievance procedures; binding arbitration
(a) The employer and the representative of the employees shall negotiate a procedure for
resolving complaints and grievances. Unless otherwise agreed to by the parties, the
Board shall hear and make final determination on a grievance. A grievance hearing
shall be conducted in accordance to the rules of the Board.
(b) A collective bargaining agreement may provide for binding arbitration as the final
step of a grievance procedure. An agreement that includes a binding arbitration provision
shall also include the procedure for conducting the grievance arbitration proceedings
and the following provisions:
(1) The parties shall mutually agree on an arbitrator from a list of arbitrators provided
by the American Arbitration Association. An arbitrator chosen or appointed under this
section shall have no authority to add to, subtract from, or modify the collective
bargaining agreement.
(2) An acknowledgment of arbitration that provides substantially the following:
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF ARBITRATION.
(The parties) understand that this agreement contains an agreement that the final
step of the grievance process shall be binding arbitration. After the effective date
of this agreement, no grievance may be brought to the Vermont Labor Relations Board
and no lawsuit concerning any grievance may be brought, unless it involves a question
of constitutional or civil rights.
(c) This section shall not apply to labor interest arbitration, which for the purposes
of this chapter means the method of concluding labor negotiations by means of a disinterested
person to determine the terms of a labor agreement.
(d) A party may apply to the arbitrator for a modification of an award if the application
is made within 30 days after delivery of a copy of an award to the applicant. An arbitrator
may modify an award only if the arbitrator finds any one of the following:
(1) There was an evident miscalculation of figures or an evident mistake in the description
of any person, thing, or property referred to in the award.
(2) The award was based on a matter not submitted to the arbitrator, and the award may
be corrected without affecting the merits of the decision on the issues submitted.
(3) The award is imperfect in form and the award may be corrected without affecting the
merits of the controversy.
(e) A party may apply to the Superior Court for review of the award, provided the application
is made within 30 days after delivery of a copy of the award to the applicant or,
in case of a claim of corruption, fraud, or other undue means, the application is
made within 30 days after those grounds are known or should have been known. The Superior
Court shall vacate an arbitration award based on any of the following:
(1) The award was procured by corruption, fraud, or other undue means.
(2) There was partiality or prejudicial misconduct by the arbitrator.
(3) The arbitrator exceeded his or her power or rendered an award requiring a person to
commit an act or engage in conduct prohibited by law.
(4) There is an absence of substantial evidence on the record as a whole to support the
award. (Added 1997, No. 92 (Adj. Sess.), § 9.)