30 days 'in the hole' not cause for termination

A recent decision by the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals (whose rulings apply to all Michigan and Ohio employers) underscores the wide deference courts give to arbitrators.

Facts

James Jenkins was employed by Zeon Chemicals for 22 years at a synthetic components plant in Louisville, Kentucky. Its hourly workforce was unionized and represented by Local 72D of the United Food & Commercial Workers Union.

The labor agreement between Zeon and the union stated the company retained the right to discharge and discipline employees for just cause. It also included an attendance policy that called for progressive discipline if set attendance point limits were exceeded:

• Specifically, at 10 points, the employee would be issued a final written warning and a one-day suspension.
• Once a worker reached 12 points, that would be "cause for termination."

The attendance policy also stated that for employees with 20 or more years of service, the company could impose a 30-day suspension as an alternative form of discipline for the final step in the disciplinary process.

In 2017, while on a family vacation in Florida, Jenkins' father asked him to retrieve a "grinder" from a neighbor. According to Jenkins, he and the neighbor got into an argument that led the neighbor to throw the grinder at Jenkins and then hit him in the face. Defending himself, Jenkins pulled out a "selfie stick" and hit the neighbor. This prompted the neighbor to retreat to his garage, retrieve a crowbar, and renew his attack on Jenkins. At this point, Jenkins fled to his father's home.