Archives for December 2014

Arbitrator Looks to “Course of Dealing in Advance of a Dispute” to Interpret an Illinois Collective-Bargaining Agreement with Police Officers

By Jim Cline and Jordan L. Jones

contract-reading-contract-with-magnifying-glassIn Village of Shiloh, 133 LA 234 (Suardi 2013) the Arbitrator held that the Village did not violate the CBA with the Village’s police officers when it scheduled certain cover shifts not explicitly provided for in the CBA.

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Court Of Appeals For The Seventh Circuit Holds That A Police Officer Returning From Military Leave Was Entitled To Full Longevity Pay Under USERRA

By Jim Cline and Jordan L. Jones

USERRAIn DeLee v. City of Plymouth, the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that a police officer returning from military leave was entitled to full longevity pay for his twelve years of employment under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). The Court noted that the City’s of Plymouth’s “longevity benefit is more appropriately characterized as a reward for lengthy service rather than as compensation for worked performed the preceding year” and therefore protected by USERRA.

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Correctional Officer Fails to Find an Adequate Comparator to Support Racial Discrimination Claim

By Erica Shelley Nelson and Kasey Burton

Alabama_Department_of_CorrectionsIn Williams v. Ala. Dep’t of Corr., an Alabama District Court held that an African-American correctional officer failed to prove that he was terminated on the basis of race.  Even though the officer tried to show that the white officer was treated differently, the Court was not convinced the two officers were similarly situated.

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Border Patrol Agent’s Time On Administrative Duty For Arrest Was Proper

By Jim Cline and Jordan L. Jones

NO-DUIIn Dep’t of Homeland Security,133 LA 419 (Nicholas 2014) the Arbitrator, citing the memorandum of understanding, denied a Border Patrol Agent’s grievance for being placed on administrative duty, following a DWI arrest, for “too long.”

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Arbitrator Finds Just Cause for Suspension of Coronado Naval Police Officer for Off Base Use of Excessive Force

By Jim Cline and Geoff Kiernan

naval policeIn Dep’t of the Navy,133 LA 1469 (Halter 2014), an Arbitrator Patrick Halter held that there was just cause for the suspension of a Department of the Navy  police officer who used excessive force to subdue a civilian off-base.

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Washington Appeals Court Holds That Some Private Cellular Phone Call Logs And Text Messages Of A Government Official May Qualify As “Public Records” Under The Public Records Act

By Erica Shelley Nelson and Jordan L. Jones

Cell phone privacyIn Nissen v. Pierce County, the Court of Appeals of Washington, Division Two held that “because some of the private cellular phone call logs and text messages . . . [of a prosecutor that were requested by the Plaintiff] may qualify as . . . [‘public records’ under the state’s Public Records Act] the superior court erred in granting the County’s . . . motion to dismiss.” The Court stated that “call logs for a government official’s private cellular phone constitute ‘public records’ only with regard to the calls that relate to government business and only if these call logs are used or retained by the government agency.” The Court also stated “text messages sent or received by a government official constitute ‘public records’ only if the text messages relate to government business.”

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Deputy Sheriffs’ Retaliation Suit Claiming They Were Accused of Being Skinheads Dismissed

By Erica Shelley Nelson and Kasey Burton

false-reportsIn Cox v. Onondaga Cnty. Sheriff’s Dep’t, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of retaliation complaints by white Deputy Sheriffs (located in the state of New York).  Even though the Deputies had set forth a prima facie case of retaliation, the Sheriff’s Department was able to demonstrate non-retaliatory reasons for its actions.  The Deputies were unable to rebut the Department’s non-retaliatory explanations with evidence of pretext.

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Federal District Court Denies Township’s Motion to Dismiss Pennsylvania Police Officer’s Employment Discrimination Complaint Following Active Duty with the Military

By Jordan Jones

userra-candidate-word-cloudIn Dubiak v. S. Abington Twp., the Court denied South Abington Township’s Motion to dismiss a police officer’s complaint that he was discriminated against in violation of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) when he was not rehired following active duty with the Marine Corps.

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