By Tom Lisi
LNP, Lancaster, Pa.
LANCASTER, Pa. — An arbitration award that granted corrections officers at Lancaster County Prison additional paid leave for working in extreme temperatures will remain in place, after a judge this week denied the county’s request to nullify the award.
The ruling dates from Monday but was not filed until Tuesday, according to court records.
It preserves a significant win for corrections officers represented by District Council 89 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Last year, a panel of arbitrators ruled that the county needed to provide an additional paid day off for corrections officers when they worked in temperatures of 80 degrees or above.
That applies only to warmer months, May through September, according to the arbitration award. The current prison lacks air conditioning.
The award also remains in effect until the county builds a planned new prison facility that is slated to have air conditioning.
Michael Fitzpatrick, spokesman for the county commissioners office, wrote in an email Wednesday that the case “is still an ongoing legal issue, so the county will not be commenting at this time.” Fitzpatrick did not answer whether that meant the county commissioners planned to appeal the ruling.
Judge’s finding
Senior Judge Kevin Hess in the Court of Common Pleas wrote in his opinion that the county waited until after arbitrators issued their decision to argue that the union did not have a right to bargain over issues that were not new from the last time the two sides negotiated a contract.
Public sector unions in Pennsylvania have a right to “impact bargain” over employer decisions that may affect employee working conditions, but it is illegal for them to strike.
The judge wrote that the county agreed to bargain with the union over the heat issue and raised no objections at the time.
“The voluntary choice to engage in impact bargaining cannot be negated just because the employer later decides after an unfavorable award, that the requirements for impact bargaining were not met,” Hess wrote.
Arbitrators last year noted that the county commissioners have not committed to a timeline for the completion of the new prison, but contracts with vendors on the project indicate construction could last through 2028.
The benefits secured by the arbitration ruling won’t bring air conditioning to the Lancaster County Prison, but “the employees’ ability to rest may do a great deal to assist” them, wrote Debra K. Wallet in the arbitration panel’s decision in September 2024 .
Democratic Commissioner Alice Yoder on Wednesday said costs associated with the arbitration award was already baked into the county’s 2025 budget, which projected the total cost of operating the prison at $42 million this year, a 30% increase from the previous year. The prison department is by far the largest user of county taxpayer dollars, according to budget records.
The department’s budgeted payroll grew by 17% this year over the 2024 budget, according to county budget materials. In recent years, the county commissioners approved higher salaries for corrections officers to help with recruitment and retention.
Heat returns
Hess’s ruling comes in the middle of a record-setting heat wave in Lancaster County. Tuesday’s 99-degree high topped the previous high for June 24 set in 1975, according to data at the Millersville University Weather Information Center.
Hess of Cumberland County was appointed by former President Judge David Ashworth to hear the case to avoid conflicts of interest. The county commissioners, whose office filed the legal challenge in October, oversee the budget for the county courts.
The arbitration award was the result of negotiations between the union and the county that began in June 2023, after LNP — LancasterOnline published stories detailing complaints from prisoners on the facility’s conditions during hot days and the prison reported positive tests of the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ Disease in its water.
The legionella bacteria grows in water that is close to body temperature, or 98.6 degrees.
Prison officials responded that summer by providing more area fans and ice, as well as allowing corrections officers to wear t-shirts instead of heavier uniforms. Corrections staff were also provided Gatorade, ice machines and additional breaks, but the commissioners refused the union’s request for additional pay, according to court documents.
AFSCME District Council 89 Local 1738 represents about 250 corrections officers at the prison. The union did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
The award also requires the county to pay out corrections officers for any of the additional days they earned but did not use by Sept. 30 of each year. Officers who were working at the prison at the time also won 30 hours of back pay for each of the years 2023 and 2024.
Most housing blocks in the jail are not air conditioned, where many corrections officers spend most of a shift. Over the years, prisoners have complained about the stifling heat inside the facility, particularly in cells, where industrial fans stationed in the middle of housing units don’t reach. One man likened his cell at the time to sitting in a car parked in the summer sun.
Corrections officers contend with other factors. They have to wear a uniform that includes long pants, and perform physical work in the conditions.
—
© 2025 LNP (Lancaster, Pa.). Visit lancasteronline.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.