Washington County v. Washington Court Ass'n of Professional Employees

# Washington County v. Washington Court Association of Professional Employees (2008) ## What Happened Washington County probation officers sought to keep their work schedule at 7.5 hours per day through binding arbitration. The county wanted to increase work hours to 8 hours daily. An arbitrator sided with the workers and issued a binding award maintaining the shorter workday. ## What the Court Decided The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ruled in favor of Washington County. The court vacated (canceled) the arbitrator's decision, finding that changes to work hours for court employees involve constitutional powers that belong to the judiciary, not arbitrators. Therefore, binding arbitration could not be used to resolve this dispute. ## Why This Matters for Workers This ruling limits workers' ability to use arbitration to protect their working conditions when employed by courts. It establishes that judges and court officials—not neutral arbitrators—have final authority over employment decisions affecting court staff. Workers in similar positions may have fewer protections when disputing scheduling or workload changes mandated by court systems.