Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, LABOR—ARBITRATION—Park ranger seen skinny-dipping by subordinate gets termination reversed, (Oct 1, 2025)

By WK Editorial Staff

The incident took place at a staff residence, after hours, and the presence of the subordinate was unexpected.

A park ranger with the State of Washington’s Parks department, whose union filed a grievance on his behalf contesting his termination following an after-hours skinny-dipping incident at an on-site staff residence, succeeded in having the termination overturned and replaced with a six-month unpaid suspension, which he had already served. He had been charged with violations of workplace policies on sexual harassment and respectful conduct after the incident because it had occurred in the presence of several park aides, including one supervisee who complained. The arbitrator concluded that the termination failed to meet just cause standards due to inconsistent application of discipline and the presence of mitigating circumstances (Washington Federation of State Employees and State of Washington (Parks Department) (Lurie, Arb. May 28, 2025)).

The incident occurred in June 2023, after the end of the workday. The grievant, who held the rank of Park Ranger 1, along with two nonsupervisory staff members, disrobed and entered the lake for a swim following a party at a staff residence. The residence is in a state park and the nearest town is 15 to 20 minutes away by car. Several park aides arrived unexpectedly and observed the scene.

Termination. The Park Ranger 1 exited the lake, covered by a towel, but then, with his back to other people, dropped the towel and jumped back in. One of the observing park aides was a new employee, who was supervised by the Park Ranger 1. She reported feeling discomfort and later filed a complaint. The employer initiated an investigation and ultimately terminated the Park Ranger 1 for policy violations, including exposure and creating an uncomfortable work environment.

A grievance was filed and an arbitrator sustained the grievance in part. While the arbitrator found that misconduct had occurred and that supervisory responsibilities were breached, the termination failed to meet just cause standards due to inconsistent application of discipline and the presence of mitigating circumstances.

Unequal treatment. The arbitrator concluded that all three employees involved had engaged in similar misconduct, yet only the Park Ranger 1 received discipline. One of the coworkers involved in the incident was later promoted. This unequal treatment undermined the consistency requirement for just cause. The arbitrator also noted that the employee had a strong prior performance record, no previous discipline, and had acknowledged wrongdoing during the disciplinary process.

Inappropriate, but not egregious. While inappropriate, the conduct did not amount to egregious misconduct warranting discharge without prior progressive discipline, the arbitrator concluded. The penalty was modified to reflect the seriousness of the lapse in judgment while accounting for mitigating factors and unequal policy enforcement.

Having reached that conclusion, the discharge was converted to a six-month unpaid suspension, which had already been served at the time of the decision. The arbitrator directed reinstatement of the employee to a permanent Park Ranger 1 position at a location of the employer’s choosing, with backpay and benefits effective July 1, 2024. The employee was placed on a one-year probation and the termination letter was ordered removed from the personnel file and replaced with documentation of the suspension.

Attorneys: Elizabeth D. Brown for the State of Washington (Parks Department). Christopher J. Coker for the Washington Federation of State Employees.

Companies: State of Washington (Parks Department); Washington Federation of State Employees

Cases: Labor Arbitration PublicEmployees Discharge