Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/1521816
34 » RNs in Motion Your Right to Representation KNOW YOUR RIGHTS WEINGARTEN RIGHTS If you believe that any meeting or interview with your employer may result in disciplinary action against you, you are entitled to union representation. Under a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1975 (NLRB v. Weingarten, No. 73-1363), nurses employed in hospitals covered by the National Labor Relations Act have the right to representation at any meeting with management that they reasonably believe may result in disciplinary action or termination. RNs in the public sector have the same rights. To exercise these rights »› » You must request that an NNOC nurse representative/shop steward be called into the meeting. » You must have a reasonable belief that discipline will result from the meeting. » You have the right to know the subject of the meeting and the right to consult your nurse representative prior to the meeting to get advice. » Do not refuse to attend a meeting if an NNOC advocate is requested but denied. Attend the meeting and insist upon your right to have a nurse or labor representative present. If this fails, take complete notes and decline to answer questions. JUST CAUSE FOR DISCIPLINE Just cause is a basic principle underlying most disci- plinary procedures. Although the definition of just cause necessarily varies from case to case, the following questions are examples of those commonly used by arbitrators in deciding whether there was just cause for a disciplinary action. Factors determining just cause for discipline »› » Was the nurse adequately warned? » Was the policy legitimately established? Was the rule or order reasonable? » Was the investigation fair and objective? » Did the investigation produce substantial evidence of proof? » Were the rules, orders, and penalties applied evenhandedly and without discrimination to all involved parties? » Is there evidence of disparate discipline vis-à-vis other similar incidents? » Was the penalty reasonable in relation to the seriousness of the offense and the past record?