Sexual harassment not equivalent to “just cause” discharge under CBA, Tenth Circuit decides.

The Court upheld an arbitrator’s reinstatement of a union employee fired for admittedly making sexually harassing comments to female employees. <!--PageBreak-->The collective bargaining agreement contained a “just cause” termination section, but did not explicitly state that sexual harassment would be just cause for termination. The Court gave deference to the arbitrator’s decision that just cause did not exist because of the employee’s positive work record and potential for rehabilitation.