Northern States Power Co. v. IBEW, Local 160, No. 12-1186 (8th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CaseNSP sought to vacate an arbitration award, arguing that the arbitrator exceeded his authority under a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the Union to grant an award after first determining that NSP had just cause for making its termination decision. The court held that the language of the arbitrator's decision was sufficient to show that the arbitrator found the termination was supported by just cause. Having answered the first submitted question in the affirmative, the arbitrator had no authority to address the second question of remedy or to fashion a remedy different than the termination. Therefore, the district court properly vacated the arbitrator's award for reaching beyond his authority under the CBA.
Court Description: Civil case - Labor Law. The language in the arbitrator's decision - that the employer had demonstrated justification for an employee's termination - was sufficient to show the arbitrator found the termination was supported by just cause; as a result, the arbitrator had no authority to address the question of remedy or to fashion a remedy other than termination, and the district court properly vacated the arbitrator's award of reinstatement. Judge Murphy, dissenting.
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