Providence Teachers' Union Local 958, AFT, AFL-CIO v. Nicholas Hemond

Syllabus

The plaintiffs, Providence Teachers' Union Local 958, AFT, AFL-CIO, and Jennifer Leyden, appealed from an order of the Superior Court denying their motion to vacate an arbitration award and granting the motion of the defendant, the City of Providence, to confirm the same award. The union argues that the hearing justice erred in deciding that a teacher was a retired employee once the retirement board determined that she was entitled to an ordinary disability pension. The Supreme Court held that a teacher is not a retired employee once the retirement board determined that she was entitled to an ordinary disability pension. The Court held that nothing in chapter 16 of title 16 nor chapter 8 of title 36 of the general laws grants the retirement board the authority to retire a teacher or the power to sever the employment relationship between a teacher and the school department. Instead, the Court held that these statutes grant the retirement board the authority to, among other things, determine a covered employee's eligibility and to pay a pension to the eligible employee. Accordingly, the Supreme Court vacated the order of the Superior Court and remanded the case to the Superior Court with instructions to enter an order vacating the arbitrator's award.