Nebraska Supreme Court sides with state employees union in 'blue jeans' lawsuit

[Omaha Steve]

https://omaha.com/news/state-and-regional/crime-and-courts/nebraska-supreme-court-sides-with-state-employees-union-in-blue-jeans-lawsuit/article_692ce7d2-98d7-11ed-8588-9364654a7a0f.html

By Erin Bamer Jan 20, 2023 Updated 18 hrs ago

LINCOLN — The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled in favor of the state employees union Friday in a three-year lawsuit centered on whether employees can wear blue jeans to work.

The State Department of Health and Human Services was challenging two previous decisions from an arbiter and district court that ruled in favor of a grievance the Nebraska Association of Public Employees (NAPE) filed against the department alleging they changed the employee dress code in violation of their labor contract. In Friday’s ruling, the State Supreme Court upheld both decisions.

“During three years of litigation, DHHS tried to convince an arbitrator and eight different judges to rule in its favor, and it could not find a single one to agree with its position,” NAPE Executive Director Justin Hubly said in a union press release.

At the end of 2019, DHHS notified employees it was changing their dress code to effectively ban blue jeans and other casual attire like T-shirts and athletic shoes on Mondays through Thursdays. A group of more than 200 NAPE members filed a grievance in early 2020, alleging the department violated its labor contract by failing to properly notify or negotiate with the union about the changes. DHHS argued the changes did not violate the contract.

FULL story at link above.

[intheflow]

1. "Hey, employees, we have a great idea to bring back Casual Fridays!"

Of course it means rolling back contract agreements that allow employees to be comfortable five days a week instead of just one.