RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR
ARBITRATIONS INVOLVING
DISCIPLINARY MATTERS FOR
INDIVIDUALS BEFORE THE LIUNA
INDEPENDENT HEARING OFFICER

            Pursuant to the LIUNA Ethics and Disciplinary Procedure adopted on January 18, 1995, the following procedural rules are hereby adopted.

  1. Pleadings
  2.     All pleadings regarding disciplinary matters before the Independent Hearing Officer (IHO) including the list of charges, motions and briefs shall be filed with the Independent Hearing Officer consisting of an original and one copy. The IHO should be served at Vaira Backstrom & Riley, 1600 Market, Suite 2650, Philadelphia, PA.19103. A separate copy must be served on the opposing party. The IHO will hold the pleadings confidential and permit no one except the parties and their authorized representatives to examine them during the pre-hearing and hearing stages of the proceedings. A person other than those authorized by this order who wishes to examine the pleadings at the pre-hearing and hearing stages of the proceedings must file a motion with the IHO which demonstrates a particularized need to examine the documents. The need to examine the pleadings cannot prejudice the right of all parties to a fair hearing.

        Upon a final decision by the IHO which concludes an arbitration, the original record containing the pleadings and other documents will be forwarded to General Secretary-Treasurer of the LIUNA who will enter it on formal docket as described below.

  3. Formal Docket

(a) The General Secretary-Treasurer of the LIUNA shall establish a formal docket at a secure location within the General Headquarters of the union.
(b). The security of the docket will be the responsibility of the General Secretary-Treasurer.
(c). The docket will contain all charges, pleadings, and other papers filed with the IHO, as well as all opinions and orders of the IHO, arbitration transcripts,and other documents ordered by the IHO to be docketed.
(d) A separate file will be maintained for each matter, with a separate number. The details of this numbering system will be formulated at a future date. The General Secretary-Treasurer shall maintain a separate docket summary sheet, similar to those maintained by federal courts, which indicates the matter number, the date the document is entered on the docket, and a brief description of the document.
(e). The original documents placed on the docket shall not be removed except upon order by the IHO or the Appellate Officer.
(f). The documents on the docket and the docket entry sheet may be examined by members of the LIUNA or their representatives upon request made to the General Secretary-Treasurer, but may not be removed from the premises of the General Headquarters except upon a written order by the IHO or the Appellate Officer. It is the responsibility of the General Secretary -Treasurer to insure that no one examining the docketed materials destroys or damages the records.
(g). Copies of the documents on the docket may be made at any time upon request of those persons who are authorized to examine the material.
(h). Persons, other than those authorized to examine the docket by these rules, who wish to examine the docket must request permission from the General Secretary-Treasurer.

  1. Discovery

        As a general rule, labor arbitration proceedings do not maintain the formal discovery procedure of common law courts of the United States, nor of many proceedings before administrative law judges in various state and federal agencies. Notwithstanding the informality, due process standards must met, in the context of the types of hearings and their purposes.

        In disciplinary hearings the following discovery procedures will be followed:

(a). Motion for Full Disclosure. Title 29 U.S.C.Sec. 411 (a)(5) requires fair notice of the charges in sufficient time to enable the member to defend himself/herself. The charges should be specific enough to inform the member of the offense(s) of which he/she has been charged, but need not be as specific as a criminal indictment. The standards of particularity of Title29 U.S.C. Sec. 411 (a)(5), as construed by the courts, will be followed. A member who believes that a charge filed against him/her is not specific enough to enable him/her to defend against it may file for full disclosure(in the nature of a bill of particulars). A motion for a full disclosure must be filed with the IHO within ten business days of the receipt of the charge(s) by the member. A copy of the motion shall be served upon the GEB attorney. The GEB attorney shall respond within seven business days by formal reply to the IHO with a copy served on the opposing party. The IHO will rule upon the contested portions of the motion.

(b). Documents. Within fifteen business days of the filing of charges the GEB attorney shall identify to the member served with charges the documents which the GEB attorney intends to offer into evidence at the hearing. Upon request of the member, the GEB attorney shall make the documents available to the member by providing copies, or in the event the documents are too voluminous, the GEB attorney shall make the documents available for inspection by the member. This provision is not intended to limit the GEB attorney from obtaining and utilizing additional documents other than those specified within the time limits set out above. In the event the GEB attorney determines that additional documents may be offered in evidence, the GEB attorney will promptly notify the opposing party of their identity to permit examination and inspection.

(c). Witness List. No later than seven business days prior to the scheduled date of the hearing, the GEB attorney shall provide the member with a list of The names of the witnesses the GEB attorney intends to call at the hearing. In theevent that other witnesses become available the GEB attorney shall promptly notify the opposing party of their identity.

  1. Motions.
  1. Hearing Procedure:

(a) The member charged is entitled to be represented by a lawyer or other non-lawyer representative of his/her choice, at all stages of the proceedings.

(b) The hearings will be conducted in a courtroom like manner, although strict evidentiary rules which are ordinarily followed by common law courts will not be applied. Hearsay will be admitted provided there is a demonstration of reliability in the custom and practice of labor arbitrations. Documents admitted in evidence will be properly marked and made part of the record. All witnesses will be sworn and testimony will be transcribed by an accredited court reporter. A transcript will be filed with the IHO for inclusion in the record. Testimony of witnesses will consist of direct examination, cross-examination, redirect and recross. A witness once excused may be recalled with permission of the IHO. Objections and motions during the hearing shall be made according to normal courtroom procedure. Unless otherwise directed by the IHO, witnesses will be sequestered from the hearing room except during their testimony.

(c) Evidence by Affidavit. The IHO may receive and consider evidence of witnesses by affidavit in accordance with the custom and practice of labor arbitrations.

(d) The hearings will be conducted at a location designated by the IHO. An attempt will be made to hold the hearings at locations convenient to all parties. Attendance at the hearings will be limited to the parties, their attorneys or representatives.

(e) The burden of proof is upon the GEB attorney to convince the IHO that just cause exists to discipline the member.

(f) Subpoenas. Either party may request the IHO to issue a subpoena duces tecum (for documents) or ad testificandum (for testimony) to a member or officer of the LIUNA pursuant to section 5(f) of the amended disciplinary rules. If the IHO is convinced that the documents or testimony sought are probative and admissible, a subpoena will be issued. Failure to comply with the subpoena will be dealt with in the manner set forth in section 5(f) of the LIUNA Ethics and Disciplinary Procedure pertaining to such refusals. This section in no ways limits the subpoena power granted independently to the GEB Attorney by the LIUNA Ethics and Disciplinary Procedure.

(g) Depositions. In the event that a non-LIUNA member is willing to offer testimony, but is unavailable to appear at the hearing, either party may petition the IHO for permission to take the deposition of the person. If the moving party convinces the IHO that the testimony of the witness is probative and admissible a deposition may be taken for evidentiary purposes, following as closely as possible the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The transcript of the deposition may be offered in evidence as part of the hearing.

(h) The IHO may request briefs and arguments on questions that arise during the hearing and may request proposed findings and conclusions.

(i)The parties may make summary arguments and submit summary briefs in conclusion.

(j) The IHO will render a decision in writing. The IHO need not await the transcription of the record to render a final decision.

(k) Following the IHO's written decision, the IHO will transmit the original record to the General Secretary-Treasurer for inclusion on the docket.

s/Peter F. Vaira
Peter F. Vaira
Independent Hearing Officer

Dated: February 15,1995


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