Bower-Hansen v. Nebraska Dept. of Health & Human Servs.

Summary

The Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s decision upholding the State Personnel Board’s dismissal of Betty Jane Bower-Hansen’s grievance challenging her termination from employment with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. The court held that the governing collective bargaining agreement required compliance with each step of its grievance procedure and expressly provided that failure to meet the deadlines waived future appeals. The court concluded that Bower-Hansen failed to comply with those requirements.

Holdings

1. Bower-Hansen was required to submit her initial grievance at level one under the collective bargaining agreement and was not entitled to bypass that step under the Nebraska Classified System Personnel Rules.
2. Bower-Hansen failed to comply with the collective bargaining agreement because she either skipped the required level-one step or submitted the grievance to the wrong official, and she did not timely file her level-two grievance within 10 workdays after the level-one denial.
3. The collective bargaining agreement's clear language provided that failure to timely proceed through the required grievance steps constituted a waiver of the right to future appeals, and the waiver provision was enforceable.
4. The district court did not err under the Administrative Procedure Act in affirming the Personnel Board's dismissal of Bower-Hansen's grievance.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Bower-Hansen was entitled to initiate the collective bargaining agreement's grievance procedure at level two rather than level one.
2. Whether any alleged advice from a DHHS employee or DHHS's initial processing of the grievance excused noncompliance with the collective bargaining agreement.
3. Whether Bower-Hansen waived her right to continue pursuing the grievance by failing to comply with the agreement's procedural steps and deadlines.
4. Whether the district court properly affirmed the Personnel Board's dismissal under the Nebraska Administrative Procedure Act.

Disposition

affirmed