Middlebury v. Fraternal Order of Police, Middlebury Lodge No. 34

Summary

The court affirmed the judgment upholding the labor board’s refusal to replace its longstanding clear-and-unmistakable-waiver standard with the contract-coverage standard used by the NLRB. The labor board was not bound to follow federal precedent because the federal labor statute does not apply to Connecticut municipalities, and its decision was entitled to deference as a longstanding policy choice within its enforcement authority. The court also concluded that the contract-coverage standard would not have changed the result because the collective bargaining agreement had expired before the unilateral change.