State of Alaska, Appellant v. Public Safety Employees Association, Appellee

Summary

The court affirmed the superior court’s partial enforcement of an arbitration award reinstating an Alaska state trooper after a three-day suspension for consensual sexual misconduct involving a domestic-violence victim. It held that the award did not violate public policy because no explicit, well-defined, and dominant public policy required termination rather than progressive discipline, and the arbitrator did not commit gross error in finding no just cause for discharge. Justice Maassen, joined by Justice Stowers, dissented and would have held that reinstatement violated Alaska public policy.