Archives for July 2016

July 13, 2016 By

Representing the Injured or Disabled Member Part 3: The General Duty to Accommodate a Disability

disabledJim Cline and Erica Shelley Nelson

Representing the Injured or Disabled Member

Part 3: The General Duty to Accommodate a Disability

This article is the 3rd in a multiple part series covering the rights your injured and disabled members have and how you, as a union or guild representative, can best assist them.  Over the next two to three months, we’ll be publishing, in various segments, information on how state and federal laws protect your members who are hurt or otherwise unable to work. We’ll cover topics including disability discrimination law, the FMLA, job protection rights under the CBA, workers compensation, disability benefits, and the right to bring a civil lawsuit.

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Filed Under: Legal Rights
July 13, 2016 By

Virginia District Court Finds FBI Special Agents Were Not Discriminated Against After Being Called “Princesses” and “Prima Donnas”

tiaraBy: Sarah Burke and Mitchell Riese

In Cowley v. Lynch, four FBI special agents alleged that the FBI had created a hostile work environment, discriminated against them based on their sex in denying them transfers, and had retaliated against them by reorganizing their department in order to break up their “clique.” The FBI argued that the restructuring and transfer denials were due to legitimate department needs and that a hostile work environment had not been established. The district court agreed with the FBI, finding that stray comments made around the agents did not rise to the level of hostile work environment and that the reasons for the restructuring and transfer were legitimate.

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Filed Under: Discrimination, Race Discrimination
July 12, 2016 By

Pennsylvania District Court Finds FLSA Does Not Cover Corrections Officers Claim For Unpaid Wages For Mandatory Pre-Roll Call Report Time


wall-clock-clip-artBy: Jim Cline and Sarah Burke 

In Whenry v. Board of Commissioners, a Federal District rejected a FLSA claim filed by 66 corrections officers for unpaid wages over mandatory on the job time prior to roll call. The Court held that the Teamster contract that indicated the time was unpaid did not violate the FLSA. The court noted the officers were covered by a 207(k) exemption which created three weekly hours of “gap time” between their 40 regular schedule hours and their 43 weekly 207k hours.

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Filed Under: FLSA
July 9, 2016 By

Pennsylvania District Court Denies Qualified Immunity For Police Commissioner Who Terminated Officer After Filing a Grievance

overtimeBy: Erica Shelley Nelson and Sarah Burke

In Rossiter v. Ramsey, a Philadelphia police officer was terminated for alleged overtime abuses and then subsequently reinstated following an arbitration hearing. After his reinstatement, the officer brought charges that he had been retaliated against for exercising his First Amendment right to associate by his police commissioner. The commissioner argued qualified immunity and moved for summary judgment.

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Filed Under: Free Speech Rights
July 1, 2016 By

Arbitrator Holds That Employer Did Not Violate The CBA When It Denied A Ohio Deputy Sheriff’s Compensatory Leave Because Of “Insufficient Manpower”

stock-photo-48817310-6-o-clockBy: Jim Cline and Jordan L. Jones

In Clark County Sheriff , the Arbitrator held the employer did not violate the CBA when it denied a Ohio deputy sheriff’s compensatory leave. The Arbitrator stated that the employer had proved that it did not have “sufficient manpower” available at the time that the deputy had requested compensatory leave in compliance with the CBA.

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Filed Under: Arbitration Rulings