contractart20

Section 1. Cause For Discipline

(a) No regular employee, after having completed his probationary period at his Employer, shall be discharged, suspended without pay or subjected to other disciplinary action without just cause. Probationary employees are employees at will who may be discharged or disciplined, with or without cause, at the discretion of the Employer. The discharge or discipline of any probationary employee shall not be subject to the provisions of Article 15 - Grievance and Arbitration.

When a regular employee is discharged or disciplined, any prior disciplinary action of that employee during the term of his employment shall be relevant in determining the just cause of the discharge or discipline. Prior disciplinary action is not a condition

precedent to the discharge or to discipline of a regular employee. The sole condition shall be whether the discharge or discipline was for just cause.

The parties recognize that many different types of conduct or infractions can constitute just cause for discharge or for disciplinary action. The parties agree that just cause for discharge without prior discipline shall include, but not be limited to:

(i) dishonesty of any nature

(ii) drunkenness

(iii) drinking on duty

(iv) being under the influence of a controlled substance

(v) unlawful possession of a controlled substance

(vi) using a controlled substance during working hours or on the Employers’ premises

(vii) unlawful sale of a controlled substance

(viii) refusing to submit to testing for drug or alcohol usage

(ix) a positive result to a drug screen or an alcohol screen

(x) gambling while on duty

(xi) participation in a slowdown, work stoppage, strike, sympathy strike or boycott in violation of this Agreement

(xii) fighting while on duty or while on the premises of the Employer, excepting reasonable self-defense

(xiii) discourteous, abusive or improper behavior toward a customer or potential customer

(xiv) refusal to provide service to a potential customer in accordance with applicable law and/or regulation

(xv) abusive, disruptive or improper behavior toward a supervisor, any other representative of the Employer or toward an employee of any Employer party to this Agreement

(xvi) abusive, disruptive or improper behavior toward any representative of a governmental agency, including, but not limited to, a representative of the Nevada Taxicab Authority or a representative of McCarran Airport.

(xvii) refusal to follow an order of a supervisor or other representative of the Employer

(xviii) refusal to take a radio call in accordance with Company procedures (xix) failure to report for work as scheduled without permission (No call, no show)

(xx) leaving work early without permission during a shift

(xxi) insubordination

(xxii) abusive, disruptive or improper behavior toward a representative of any property on which bargaining unit employees perform services

(xxiii) discouraging a customer or potential customer from patronizing the Employers’ taxicabs

(xxiv) making disparaging remarks concerning any Employer covered by this Agreement or their operations

(XXV) high flagging

(xxvi) low book

(xxvii) failure of a driver to turn into the Employer at the end of a shift any portion of the driver’s book

(xxviii) damage to any Employer’s equipment caused by or contributed to by the action of the employee

(xxix) abuse of Company equipment

(xxx) unauthorized use of a Company taxicab

(xxxi) use of a taxicab for personal business

When a regular employee who has completed the probationary period is disciplined and/or discharged, the reason therefor will be given to the employee in writing.

(b) 1. In disciplinary cases which do not warrant discharge without prior discipline under the terms of this Article for less serious infractions, the Employer will follow a system of progressive discipline subject to the provisions below.

2. In any discipline case, evidence of comparative treatment of employees shall not be a defense to any disciplinary action, including discharge, taken by the Employer and shall be inadmissible in any arbitration hearing for the purposes of challenging the propriety of any discipline imposed.

3. In any discipline case, evidence of alleged condonation of prior infractions by the employee shall not be a defense to any disciplinary action, including discharge, taken by the Employer and shall be inadmissible in the grievance procedure or in an arbitration hearing for the purpose of challenging the propriety of any discipline imposed.

4. In the event any aspect of the overall work performance of an employee is deteriorating or has become unsatisfactory to the Employer after the employee has received at least one (1) written warning notice for any aspect of his overall work performance, the Union, upon being advised by the Employer of the situation, agrees to immediately counsel the employee concerning his performance. Such circumstances shall Constitute a final warning to the employee prior to discharge action. If any aspect of the employee’s work performance is thereafter unsatisfactory, the employee shall be subject to disciplinary action, including immediate discharge, at the option of the Employer. In the event the Employer elects not to discharge the employee involved, but chooses to assess a lesser disciplinary penalty, the Employer shall retain its option to immediately discharge the employee as a result of any continuing unsatisfactory work performance or as a result of any future infraction of the Employer’s rules.

(c) Nothing contained in this Agreement shall prohibit the Employer from disciplining an employee based on a valid verbal complaint of a customer, a potential customer, or any member of the public relating to discourteous, abusive or improper behavior as long as the complainant is identified.

Section 2. Warning Notices - A copy of any written warning notice shall be issued to the affected employee. The affected employee shall be required to sign all warning notices for the purpose of acknowledging receipt. The Union shall so advise all employees covered by this Agreement.

Section 3. Mitigation of Damages

(a) Any employee covered by this Agreement who is discharged by the Employer and who disputes his discharge was for just cause shall have an affinnative duty to mitigate any potential damages which might result to the Employer in the event the discharge action involved is subject to Article 15 - Grievance and Arbitration and an arbitrator overrules the discharge. An arbitrator acting under the terms of this Agreement who sustains the grievance of a discharged employee shall have no authority to award any backpay to that employee unless that employee or the Union has affirmatively proven by a preponderance of the evidence that the employee has fulfilled his duty to mitigate damages at all times since his discharge.

(b) Any backpay awarded shall not include any monies for tips allegedly lost by the driver. Any backpay shall be based on the average book of drivers in his Company working the same shift as the discharged employee was working at the time of his discharge or disciplinary suspension without pay.

Section 4. Any action taken by an Employer covered by this Agreement as a result of any action taken against a driver by the Nevada Taxicab Authority or any other government agency or as the result of the refusal of the Nevada Taxicab Authority or any other government agency to grant a permit to the driver shall not be subject to Article 15 - Grievance and Arbitration Procedure.

In the event the action taken against the driver by the Nevada Taxicab Authority or by any other governmental agency which prompted the action taken by the Employer is rescinded or revoked, the Employer shall reinstate the driver with full seniority but with no backpay, as long as the driver is otherwise able to function as a taxicab driver. In the event of a driver’s reinstatement during the same bid period, the driver will be reinstated to his former cab and shift. If a new bid has occurred, the reinstated driver shall work off the extra board for the remainder of that bid period. Any other driver adversely affected by the reinstatement of the driver pursuant to this provision shall have no grievance under this Agreement.