Between April and December 2020, Arthur Canaii, a firefighter for the Virgin Islands Fire Service (VIFS), requested legal representation from his Union multiple times, both orally and in writing, in response to what he alleged was disability discrimination, sexual harassment, unfair labor practices, and retaliation. Canaii was never provided with that representation and subsequently sued VIFS on the above issues.
Canaii delivered a grievance to his Union’s president on February 4, 2020. This grievance was accepted by the Fire Chief and denied on appeal. Canaii requested arbitration. Canaii then received a response that VIFS had not violated their CBA. The day after the grievance was delivered, Canaii initiated contact with several VIFS members, including the director, assistant director, fire chief and deputy chief to obtain an accommodation for his severe sleep apnea. His doctor had advised him to avoid working 24-hour shifts. After initially being placed on sick leave, VIFS told Canaii it doesn’t offer “light duty” despite his claims that another firefighter received light duty.
Canaii reported to Fire Marshal Leon Battiste, who was responsible for investigating Canaii’s allegations. After this investigation, on March 25, 2020, Battiste concluded the matter should be closed because of insufficient evidence. Canaii alleged that this investigation was deficient for several reasons, including Battiste’s lack of responsiveness, failure to review evidence submitted by Canaii, and a false conclusion that no witnesses supported Canaii’s allegations.
The previous fall, Canaii had filed formal charges against two other individuals with the Division of Personnel. This investigation included meetings and a rebuttal interview with Investigator Kurell Hodge. In October 2020, Canaii received an email from Hodge stating a disposition had been reached, but the specifics of that disposition weren’t provided to the Virgin Islands District Court.
On April 4, 2020, Canaii, filed charges with the EEOC, claiming discrimination, retaliation, sexual harassment, and a hostile work environment. That same day, Canaii submitted an unfair labor practice complaint to the Public Employee Relations Board.
After meetings and rebuttals, the EEOC issued a Dismissal and Notice of Rights to File Suit. PERB allegedly responded by moving to dismiss due to lack of evidence, but no further details of this resolution were included in the complaint.
The Defendants moved to dismiss Canaii’s complaint, arguing the grievance procedure contained in the VIFS CBA was the exclusive remedy for work-related disputes, and that he failed to exhaust his administrative remedies before filing suit. They also maintained dismissal was warranted because service of process was not met.
The Virgin Island District Court first found that it had jurisdiction over the claims before moving to the merits.
Regarding the main issue, the Court held that the VIFS CBA did not explicitly waive Canaii’s right to seek redress under federal anti-discrimination statutes in a judicial forum. The Court noted that the CBA “wholly fails to reference statutory rights or a right to seek judicial redress for violations of federal law, let alone indicate that an employee is waiving any of these rights.” Instead, the CBA uses “far more general language, purporting to be the ‘exclusive’ remedy for the parties to the agreement as well as any claims arising under the CBA. General provisions such as this do not satisfy the clear-and-unmistakable-waiver standard and thus do not waive an employee’s right to a judicial forum for statutory claims.”
The Court further stated that because Canaii was pursuing federal anti-discrimination claims, rather than those derived from the CBA, the “no exhaustion requirement applies.”
As to whether Canaii’s local law claim should proceed, the Court found that this presented a “novel issue of local law preferably left to resolution by the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands,” as there was an “open question as to whether Plaintiff’s availment of various administrative grievance procedures deprives him of his right of access to a judicial forum for his claim.” The Court noted that it is unclear which Virgin Islands statute should apply. Because of this, the Court certified the question to the Virgin Islands Supreme Court as to whether local law “precludes litigants who have availed themselves of an administrative grievance procedure from accessing a judicial forum for corresponding statutory claims arising out of the same dispute.”
Canaii v. Gov’t of the V.I. Albert Bryan, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 181754 (D.V.I. 2024).