March 1, 2024
The Employment and Labor Law team at Rembolt Ludtke is often retained by the State of Nebraska to handle disputes before the Commission of Industrial Relations (CIR). Recently the team obtained a victory for the State on a dispute involving a specific classification of employees at the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services.
The dispute is complex, but largely boils down to whether a classification of employees—Corrections Unit Case Managers—was properly categorized as “supervisors” and therefore not in the same bargaining unit as the employees they supervise. After a trial, the CIR ruled in favor of the union, finding that the decision on whether the Corrections Unit Case Manager position was properly included in the bargaining unit was decided in an earlier proceeding. The State appealed, and on March 1, 2024, the Nebraska Supreme Court issued its decision in Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #88 v. State of Nebraska, 316 Neb. 28 (2024). The Supreme Court was persuaded by the arguments made by the State and remanded the case back to the CIR for further action.
Congratulations to Mark Fahleson, Tara Paulson and Sam Colwell for their work on this matter.
