The City of Cranston v. International Brotherhood of Police Officers, Local 301

Syllabus

The plaintiff, the City of Cranston, appealed from a Superior Court judgment in favor of the defendants, the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, Daniel Nuey, and the Municipal Employees' Retirement System of Rhode Island. In his decision, the trial justice ordered the City to arbitrate the grievance that the Union had filed on behalf of Nuey, after the trial justice found that Nuey had not retired from his position as a Cranston police officer and thus remained a member of the bargaining unit. On appeal, the City argued that the Retirement Board retired Nuey as a matter of law as soon as it granted his application for an ordinary disability retirement. In the City's view, at that moment, Nuey had retired and was no longer a member of the collective bargaining unit. The Supreme Court held that the ERSRI Retirement Board did not possess the authority to unilaterally retire a municipal police officer. Instead, a police officer retires after the Retirement Board determines his eligibility and that officer ceases his employment. Accordingly, the Court affirmed the judgment of the Superior Court.