State v. Public Safety Employees Association

OPINION

FABE, Chief Justice.

I. INTRODUCTION

An Alaska state trooper was discharged for having consensual sex with a domestic violence victim the morning after assisting in the arrest of the victim's husband. The Public Safety Employees Association (PSEA), the labor organization that represents the Alaska State Troopers, filed a grievance under its collective bargaining agreement with the State of Alaska. The matter went to arbitration. The arbitrator ordered that the trooper be reinstated with back pay after a three-day suspension, concluding that the State did not have just cause to discharge…