Steen v. Governor's Office of Employee Relations

**What Happened** State employees working for the Office of Mental Health filed grievances claiming they were being required to perform work that fell outside their official job titles. When their grievances were denied by administrators, the workers took their case to court, arguing that the state was improperly assigning them duties they weren't hired to do. **What the Court Decided** The appellate court sided with the employees, reversing an earlier court decision that had dismissed their case. The court found that the administrative decision denying the workers' grievances "lacked a rational basis" and determined that the employees were indeed performing work outside their official job classifications. **Why This Matters for Workers** This ruling reinforces that employees have the right to challenge assignments that go beyond their job descriptions. Workers cannot simply be required to take on duties that fall outside their official roles without proper process or justification. The decision shows that courts will scrutinize administrative decisions about job duties and protect workers when employers try to expand their responsibilities beyond what they were hired to do. This is particularly important for unionized public sector employees who have specific job classifications with defined duties.