Nebraska judge dismisses union’s request to hold state in contempt

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — A judge on Monday dismissed the Nebraska Assocation of Public Employees’ motion to hold the state in contempt.

Lancaster County District Judge Andrew Jacobson ruled that the State of Nebraska did not intentionally violate a labor board’s order.

The dispute between the state and the union is over Gov. Jim Pillen’s executive order requiring state employees to return to in-person work.

SEE ALSO: Nebraska state worker with new baby quits after Pillen’s order to end remote work

NAPE argued that the state couldn’t make that change without negotiating with the union and filed a petition with the Nebraska Commission of Industrial Relations.

Pillen’s order was set to take effect on Jan. 2, but the commission halted it on Dec. 29 while it considered the case.

The commission ordered the state to maintain the “status quo” on remote work policies:

“[T]he dispute in this matter arose upon the issuance of the Executive Order in question. Accordingly, we are compelled to find that the status quo in this matter consists of the agency policies relating to remote work assignments, and the application of those policies, which were in place just prior to the issuance of the Executive Order.”

SEE ALSO: Hundreds of state union workers looking for other jobs after Pillen’s return-to-office order

But some union members in the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Revenue were ordered to stop working remotely.

The state argued that it was still complying with the ruling because policies predating Pillen’s order gave some agencies discretion to end remote work assignments.

On Jan. 3, after the union pushed back, the state filed a motion asking the commission to clarify its order.

The commission issued a new order on Jan. 10, saying the remote work status of NAPE members “was not to be altered during the pendency of this case.”

SEE ALSO: ‘All Nebraskans pay the price’: Union demands to negotiate Pillen’s remote work order

In his ruling, the judge found that state followed “the letter of the order,” even though the effect was not what the Commission of Industrial Relations intended.

“This Court cannot hold the State in contempt for trying to apply the very same policies that the CIR ordered it to apply, albeit in a manner apparently not anticipated by the CIR,” Jacobson wrote.

The judge also found no evidence that the state violated the commission’s order after it had been clarified.

NAPE Executive Director Justin Hubly said despite the loss in court, the union got the result it wanted.

“While we had no desire to go to the District Court to hold the state accountable, this action proved well worth it, because only after appearing in court did the state comply with the CIR’s order,” he said in a press release.

Meanwhile, the initial dispute over Pillen’s order has not been settled.

The commission has scheduled a trial in the case for Feb. 26 to 28.