Yahraus v. Circleville

In Yahraus v. Circleville, Pickaway App. No. 01CA1, 2001 Ohio, a retired city employee generally bypassed the grievance procedure and filed an action in municipal court to contest the city's denial of her request for longevity pay. After the trial court granted longevity pay, the city appealed, contending that the employee had failed to exhaust administrative remedies pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement. The Fourth District Court of Appeals disagreed, stating that: "Generally, an employee's failure to exhaust his or her administrative remedies pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement deprives the courts of jurisdiction to hear the employee's complaint. However, retirees seeking to resolve a dispute arising from events that occurred after their retirement usually are not subject to a collective bargaining agreement. Rather, 'absent a provision in the collective bargaining agreement that expressly requires retirees to exhaust administrative remedies before filing suit against the employer, a retiree's suit against the employer is not barred by his failure to pursue grievance and arbitration procedures.'"