Forensics Journal - Stevenson University 2011 | Page 12

STEVENSON UNIVERSITY

not inform Kalkines that he had a Constitutional right to remain
silent. He was advised of the Department’s regulation which required
him to cooperate and truthfully answer questions. However, the
investigators did not advise Kalkines that if he did make incriminating statements, the statements and fruits would not be used against
him in a criminal proceeding (Kalkines, Ct. Cl. 473 F. 2d 436 (1973).
Kalkines became aware of the parallel United States Attorney criminal
investigation, so during one interview he requested a delay to obtain
the services of an attorney. The Bureau of Customs cited this delay in
its determination that Kalkines was not cooperating with the internal
investigation, and it became one of the counts that led to his termination (Kalkines). The Court ruled that Kalkines’ termination was not
valid and he was entitled to recover lost wages. In reaching its opinion, the Court cited Sanitation Men, Gardner, and Garrity (Kalkines).

Supreme Court majority ruled that the store manager’s denial of Collins’ request for a union representative to be present during the investigatory interview, while she reasonably believed that the interview
could lead to discipline, violated her right to engage in “…concerted
activities for mutual aid or protection and constituted an unfair labor
practice” (Weingarten, 420 U.S. at 256-258.)3
Union members are entitled to due process protections in the area
of employee discipline and the conduct of internal investigations for
misconduct. One large employer of union workers is the National
Railroad Passenger Corporation, better known as Amtrak, which is
classified as a designated independent agency of the United States.
Amtrak is unique in that, notwithstanding its federal designation, it was formed by Congress in 1971 as a for-profit corporation
organized in the District of Columbia. Even though Amtrak is an
independent federal agency, its workers are not federal employees.4
Amtrak employs about 22,000 people, of whom 2,000 employees are
non-union members and generally consist of executives, managers,
and support personnel. The other 20,000 employees are members of
fifteen separate crafts represented by fifteen separate labor unions.

Public sector workers are beneficiaries of the rulings handed down in
Garrity and Kalkines. Union Employees, both public and private sector, are the recipients of various protections, including rights decided
in Weingarten.1 In that case, a store employee, Leura Collins (Collins),
who was represented by The Retail Store Clerk’s Union Local 455,
was interviewed by a loss prevention specialist and a store manager
for suspicion of theft. Several times during the interview, Collins
requested that the store manager contact a union representative to be
present; however, the manager denied her requests (National Lab