In re the Arbitration between Ulster County Sheriff's Employees Ass'n, CWA Local 1105 & Ulster County Sheriff's Department

**Sheriff's Department Must Restart Promotional Exam After Excluding Union Members** This case involved a dispute between the Ulster County Sheriff's Department and its employees' union over a promotional exam. The sheriff's department held an exam for assistant warden positions but excluded correction sergeants from taking the test. The union argued this violated their collective bargaining agreement, which is the contract between the employer and union that sets workplace rules and benefits. The union took the matter to arbitration, where a neutral decision-maker ruled in favor of the employees. The arbitrator found that Ulster County had indeed broken the collective bargaining agreement by preventing correction sergeants from participating in the promotional exam. The county appealed this decision to court, but the court upheld the arbitrator's ruling. As a result, the court ordered the county to cancel the original exam results and conduct a new promotional exam that includes the correction sergeants who were wrongfully excluded. **Why This Matters for Workers:** This ruling reinforces that employers must follow the terms of their collective bargaining agreements. When union contracts guarantee certain rights—like the ability to compete for promotions—employers cannot simply ignore those provisions. Workers have legal recourse when their contractual rights are violated.