Charles Feigenbaum is an arbitrator based in Montgomery County who was mutually chosen by D.C. Public Schools and the Washington Teachers’ Union to decide whether the termination of 75 teachers on Aug. 1, 2008, violated the collective bargaining agreement between the schools and the union. He heard their cases in D.C. Public Schools’ Northeast office on Dec. 18, 2009, and on Sept. 29, 2010, before reaching a decision last Monday. “The fatal flaw” against DCPS, Feigenbaum wrote, was its failure to inform the teachers why they were fired. “They were not told what [their principals’ input] was. They had no opportunity to provide their side of the story.” In addition to the D.C. Public Employee Relations Board, Feigenbaum belongs to panels that resolve disputes for the Department of Education, Department of Labor and the Social Security Administration, Washington Gas Co. and the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority, among many others.

In May 2009, Feigenbaum ruled against the employees’ union of the Social Security Administration, deciding the administration could have multiple supervisors present at employee performance evaluations.

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