Court Upholds Layoffs at Corrections Department

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CN) - The Illinois Department of Corrections did not breach its duty to bargain with a union before laying off employees, the Illinois Court of Appeals ruled.

Judge Cook reversed the decision of the Illinois Labor Relations Board, which found that the Department of Corrections failed to bargain in good faith with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).

Cook found that the contract states that the Department of Corrections does have the right to implement layoffs but must bargain with the union over the layoffs' effects.

"The state ... followed the mechanisms set out in the master contract," Cook ruled. "The fact that the master contract deals with a complicated situation to be resolved within a limited period of time does not automatically result in a failure to bargain in good faith."

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