A federal district judge in Washington state agreed last month to grant a motion by the Hanford Guards Union directing the Department of Energy’s landlord contractor at the Hanford Site to engage in arbitration.
U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian in Eastern Washington ruled Oct. 17 that Leidos-led Hanford Mission Integration Solutions be compelled to arbitrate an overtime grievance with the Hanford Guards Union.
Hanford Mission and the Guards Union agreed upon an arbitrator in February of this year, but the contractor waited until May 20 before requesting a delay in the arbitration date. Then, “[w]hen asked to select between its own proffered date choices for August 2024, it did not reply,” the judge said in a six-page decision.
Hanford Mission then terminated the arbitration process and “unilaterally, just months before the new agreement negotiations were set to begin” on Nov. 1, the judge wrote.
“The court finds these delays and actions to prolong the start of arbitration constitute Defendant acting in bad faith,” Judge Bastian said of the contractor.
The judge awarded the union attorney fees in the case. The judge denied the union’s motion for a preliminary injunction and said the Oct. 17 order terminating the case in his court. A Hanford Mission spokesperson declined comment beyond what was in the order.
