Public Employee Press

Local 1407 member regains job with $100,000 in back pay

An arbitrator ordered the Teachers’ Retirement System to reinstate a Local 1407 member after concluding she had been wrongfully terminated.

Associate Retirement Benefits Examiner Jennifer Gray-Brumskine returned to her job Jan. 22 after being out of work for over two years while the union fought for her reinstatement. She is due about $100,000 to cover her time off the payroll.

Relieved to be back on the job, Gray-Brumskine declined to discuss the case in detail, expressing a desire to put the matter behind her.

“This was a huge victory for the local,” said Maf Misbah Uddin, president of Accountants, Statisticians and Actuaries Local 1407 and treasurer of DC 37.

Fight for fairness
“How often do you hear about someone who was fired being restored after being off the job for over two years? This case demonstrates how we will fight hard for members who are treated unfairly.”

Gray-Brumskine’s case dates from Aug. 27, 2004, when the agency planned to demote her to per diem status after charging her with violating its time and leave rules.

Without her permanent civil service status, Gray-Brumskine would have lost job security and workplace protections. Instead, she agreed to a two-year probationary proposal.

Subsequently, the agency fired Ms. Gray-Brumskine after charging her with violating its attendance rules.

But the arbitrator concluded that her time-clock problems did not meet the agency’s standard of three incidents within a month to be considered a failure.

The arbitrator did rule that her tardiness warranted a 30-day suspension without pay. Thus, the ruling requires Gray-Brumskine’s lost benefits and back pay to kick in 30 days after the date of her firing.

Commenting on her time out, Ms. Gray-Brumskine said that although she was frustrated over her difficulty in meeting her mortgage payments, she was able to channel her energy productively.

She returned to school, pursued liberal arts studies at the DC 37 Campus of the College of New Rochelle, and got involved in local politics in her Staten Island community.

She expressed her appreciation to the local and DC 37 attorney Diana York, who handled her case.