In City of Woburn, a Department of Labor Relations (DLR) arbitration decision, a DLR arbitrator upheld the four month suspension of a police officer for deliberate violation of an order to stay away from his girlfriend, who was facing trial for distribution of oxycodone. But, the Mayor’s order that the officer apologize to the Mayor and all his fellow officers was not found to be supported by just cause.
It seems that requiring employees who engage in egregious misconduct to be contrite is not part of progressive discipline. Discipline is corrective, not punitive, the arbitrator opined. The four month non-punitive suspension was sustained, but a demand for an apology was deemed “superfluous” and “not corrective.”
