The arbitrator shall be the judge
of the relevancy and the materiality of the evidence offered, and conformity
to legal rules of evidence shall not be necessary." However, arbitrators
must weigh the relevance or credibility of evidence when considering
a grievance. Evidence is either direct or cirumstnntinl. Direct evidence
is information specifical ly tying a person to a situation. The search for
the "smoking gun" is an attempt to find direct evidence. Circumstantial
evidence suggests a connection between even ts and an individual. For
example, if shortages in a cash register occuronly when one particular
employee is scheduled, that circumstance, when comected with others,
may establish guilt.