[Nfb-kzoo] Arbitrator rules in favor of Christine Boone, former director of Michigan Commission

[J.J. Meddaugh]

>From Kalamazoo Gazette

  KALAMAZOO -
  The former director of the Michigan Commission for the Blind Training Center here,
fired in February, 2010 in a dispute about a marksmanship class
 offered to students, should get her job back, with back pay and benefits,
a hearing officer has ruled
.
"After careful review of all the facts and circumstances, it is clear that (former
director Christine) Boone performed her work in good faith and with reasonable diligence,"
arbitrator Michael P. Long wrote in his ruling, a copy of which was provided by Boone.
A spokesman for the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth, which
oversees the training center, said via e-mail Wednesday that the department had just
received the order, had not yet had an opportunity to review it, and so had no further
comment.
Boone, 51, said she learned the news from her lawyer Tuesday that the state labor
arbitrator had ruled in her favor and was "delighted" by the outcome.
"I came to Kalamazoo four years to be the training center's director, and my whole
mission, my energy,  my time and my passion was to create an environment where blind
people would be challenged and receive skills they need to enter the work force,"
she told the Kalamazoo Gazette today in an interview.
"I'm looking forward to having an opportunity to continue the work I started."
Boone was fired after her boss Patrick Cannon, director of the Michigan Commission
for the Blind in Lansing, became upset to learn of a marksmanship class being offered
at the school,  a year-round training facility for blind adults.
In the class, blind students used spring-powered pellet guns to shoot at targets.
Boone said Cannon gave his verbal consent for the class; he denied that, and said
the class violated state safety and firearms rules.
At the arbitration hearing, the record shows, Cannon argued Boone had deceived him,
intending to use the class to embarrass him.
"It appears that there may well have been a misunderstanding or miscommunication
between Ms. Boone and Mr. Cannon," Long wrote. "Ms. Boone believed she had Mr. Cannon's
approval for the marksmanship class, while Mr. Cannon believes he had not approved
the class.  ... If one assumes both witnesses are telling the truth, there was simply
a misunderstanding, and not a work rule violation."
The arbitrator said it was clear to all parties that firearms are not allowed on
state property, but less clear that the pellet guns used in class constituted firearms.
He noted that, "Mr. Cannon, after informing Ms. Boone that the pellet rifles were
"firearms," which are not allowed on state property, ordered Ms. Boone to transport
the pellet rifles to his office on state property in Lansing so that he could examine
them."
"It has not been shown that the (Boone) purposely violated any of the rules or regulations
with which she is charged," the finding concludes.
"There is not just cause for discipline or discharge in this matter."
Boone, has been blind since birth. She was  hired as Director of the Michigan Training
Center  for the Blind in October, 2006 by the Michigan Commission for the Blind.
Best Regards,
J.J. Meddaugh
A T Guys
Your Assistive Technology Experts
(269) 216-4798
http://www.ATGuys.com