NEWARK — Exxon Mobil Corp. was recently ordered to arbitrate an ongoing overtime claim over unpaid travel time. A New Jersey federal judge determined the overtime claim fell under the collective bargaining agreement between Exxon and a workers’ union, the Independent Laboratory Employees’ Union Inc. (ILEU). The ILEU filed a motion seeking to compel Exxon’s research arm, ExxonMobil Research & Engineering Co., to arbitrate the dispute in June 2013 after Exxon declined to negotiate, which the court granted.
The Arbitration Dispute
In June 2010, the ILEU, the exclusive representative for Exxon laboratory workers in Clinton, New Jersey, began the grievance process. By March, the ILEU had filed three grievances on behalf of three laboratory workers. Each of the claims was related to time spent traveling to and from professional conferences, which took place outside of their regular weekly work schedules. The failure to pay for this time, according to the complaints, resulted in unpaid wages and overtime. In the ILEU’s collective bargaining agreement with Exxon, the arbitration agreement includes provisions for overtime. However, the overtime provision does not specifically address travel time. As such, Exxon claims employee travel does not fall within the agreement.
However, the federal judge concluded the agreement included provisions for overtime. Since the complaint included failure to pay wages and overtime, even if specifically related to travel time, the collective bargaining agreement applies. Additionally, Exxon’s challenges to including travel time in the provisions are also arbitrable. The judge determined all of these challenges and questions are based on facts that may go towards the merits of the claim and should be decided by the arbitrator.
Collective Bargaining Agreements
Collective bargaining agreements are agreements between an employer and a workers’ union that represents all or some of the workers in a particular field or position. These agreements will typically cover issues ranging from wages and hours to working conditions to complaint procedures. Generally, if there is a collective agreement or a union representing employees, the employees will go through the union to raise complaints and address issues that arise. Additionally, collective bargaining agreements tend to have arbitration provisions that are intended to avoid costly litigation. Arbitration of collective agreements also avoids varying results and court decisions, which can negatively impact other union members or employees included in the collective agreement.
There are occasions when an arbitration provision, whether in a collective bargaining agreement or in an individual employment agreement, does not apply or should not apply. Whether you have an arbitration agreement or not, if you believe your employer has failed to pay for work-related travel time or to pay overtime in general, contact our knowledgeable team of overtime pay lawyers today at (855) 754-2795 to discuss your situation. If we accept your case, we will represent you under our No Fee Promise; this means there are no legal fees or costs unless you receive a settlement.