Law and Arbitration Offices of Donald T Ryce

The “obey now-grieve later” rule is a commonly accepted principle in labor arbitrations.  One arbitrator has described the rule in the following terms:

This doctrine is widely enforced by arbitrators in, for instance, insubordination cases involving a direct order concerning the manner in which work is to be done. E.g. Quaker Oats Co. 69 LA 727 (H, Jr., Arb., 1977) This is to assure that a grievant's contentions with respect to the impropriety of the order given him are heard in the grievance procedure rather than on the plant floor. But, there is no indication that the doctrine is limited to orders about the direction of work and the same doctrine has been applied in cases where a grievant maintained that he could not be compelled to work additional hours. E.g. Freeman Decorating Co. 110 LA 331 (A, Jr., Arb., 1998). The reasoning would be the same in either situation, i.e. to have the underlying issue settled in the grievance procedure, not in a “you will - I won't” dispute on the plant floor.  Johnson Controls Battery Group, Inc., 2005 WL 3675757 (Jerry A. Fullmer, 2005).  See e.g. Virgin Island Tel. Corp., 101 LA 273, 278 (Nicholas, Jr. 1993).

There are some exceptions to this doctrine.  One of the most widely recognized exceptions is if the employee can demonstrate that his or her safety or health would have been jeopardized if the order had been obeyed.