Crable v. Ohio Dep't of Youth Servs., 2010-Ohio-788, 2010 Ohio App. LEXIS 654 (10th App. Dist. Mar. 4, 2010)

State employee's suits for violation of collective bargaining agreements must be brought in a Court of Common Pleas and not in the Court of Claims.

A juvenile corrections specialist in the Ohio Department of Youth Services filed suit in the Ohio Court of Claims following a collective bargaining arbitration that resulted in a finding that her termination was with just cause. The employee's allegations of wrongful discharge and breach of contract stemmed from an alleged violation of her collective bargaining agreement. The Tenth Appellate District affirmed the holding of the Court of Claims that, pursuant to Ohio Rev. Code § 4117.09(B)(1), the Court of Claims lacked subject matter jurisdiction over such claims, which should have been filed in a court of common pleas. The employee's belated attempt to allege disability discrimination, retaliation, and violations of the Family Medical Leave Act, some of which may properly be heard in a Court of Claims, was rejected on the basis that she had failed to give reasonable notice of these claims in her complaint.

Case Law Alert - 2nd Qtr 2010