Arbitration Award – Arbitrator Misconduct

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WI Court of Appeals – District II

Case Name: Local 67, AFSCME, AFL-CIO v. City of Racine

Case No.: 2016AP1584

Officials: Reilly, P.J., Gundrum and Hagedorn, JJ.

Focus: Arbitration Award – Arbitrator Misconduct

Local 67, AFSCME, AFL-CIO (hereafter the Union) appeals from a circuit court order denying its motion to vacate an arbitration award. The arbitrator dismissed a Union member’s grievance after denying the Union representative’s request to adjourn the scheduled arbitration. We agree with the circuit court that the arbitrator properly exercised his discretion when he denied the adjournment request. We affirm the circuit court order denying the Union’s motion to vacate the arbitration award.

On appeal, the Union argues that the arbitrator engaged in misconduct when he declined to adjourn the hearing after the Union established sufficient cause to do so. While the Union concedes that numerous delays occurred in the arbitration arising from its previous adjournment requests, the Union places great weight on the fact the arbitrator did not cite this history of delay or offer any reason at all on October 26 when he denied DeLorme’s adjournment request.

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.