November 9, 2016
By Mitchell Riese and Mathias M. Deeg
In Reeder v. County of Wayne, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan held that a Wayne County police officer diagnosed with depression and anxiety could proceed with a claim against the county alleging that it wrongfully discharged him—in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act—for refusing to work mandatory overtime.
Filed Under: Disability Discrimination, Discrimination
November 9, 2016
By Mitchell Riese and Mathias M. Deeg
In Craft v. Fairfax County Government, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia held that a Fairfax County firefighter could not bring a disability discrimination claim of either wrongful termination or failure to accommodate because he was unable to show he was a “qualified individual” under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Filed Under: Disability Discrimination, Discrimination
November 7, 2016
By Erica Shelley Nelson and Sarah Burke
In Yahnke v. Kane County, an Illinois deputy sheriff was terminated after he continued to hold a second job despite being asked to discontinue the work. The deputy sheriff believed the termination was due to his potential run for Sheriff and his political affiliation. The Seventh Circuit agreed, finding the deputy sheriff was entitled to a trial.
Filed Under: Discipline, Free Speech Rights, Legal Rights
November 7, 2016
By Erica Shelley Nelson and Sarah Burke
In McWilliams v. Cmty. Educ. Ctrs., Inc., an African American correctional officer was terminated for violating a fraternization policy after he helped an inmate deposit money into his prison account. The officer alleged the termination was racially discriminatory and that the prison had allowed a hostile work environment. The U.S. District Court in Pennsylvania found that the officer had established a disparate treatment claim by alleging his punishment was not comparable to white officers who had broken the same rule and the office had established a hostile work environment claim by alleging black officers were subjected to pictures of nooses.
Filed Under: Discrimination, Race Discrimination
October 31, 2016
By Erica Shelley Nelson and Sarah E. Derry
In Island County Deputy Sheriff’s Guild, Arbitrator Gary Axon found that the Employer, Island County, lacked just cause to terminate a deputy sheriff who had 13 years on the job for sexually harassing a coworker. He instead ordered a 30-day suspension and a final warning notice that future sexual harassment will result in termination.
Filed Under: Arbitration Rulings, Discipline
October 5, 2016
By Jim Cline and Geoff Kiernan
An arbitrator found that while a Portland police captain committed the numerous offenses at issue during the grievance hearing, the city did not have just cause for the indefinite demotion of the officer. Given the Police Captain’s 23 year history without discipline and the fact that the officer was in counseling to address some of the issues, the arbitrator found that a 60-day suspension was more appropriate.
Filed Under: Discipline
September 30, 2016
By Jim Cline and Geoff Kiernan
In City of Sparks, an arbitrator ruled that while the Nevada city had improperly denied an Officer access to an attorney during an investigation, the city still had just cause to terminate him when he voluntarily consented to a drug test, which later tested positive for Methadone. Furthermore, the arbitrator found that fact two months after his termination the officer was still illegally abusing methadone confirmed that he was still unfit for light duty.
Filed Under: Discipline
September 30, 2016
By Jim Cline and Geoff Kiernan
In the City of Piqua, an Ohio Arbitrator found just cause for the discipline of an off-duty police officer who violated several departmental policies in an attempt to “catch” the teens who toilet papered his house. The arbitrator held that while the officer was within his rights to chase after the perpetrator, he nevertheless went beyond his legal authority and disobeyed the orders of on-duty police officers on the scene.
Filed Under: Discipline
September 15, 2016
By Jim Cline and Sarah E. Derry
In Island County Deputy Sheriff’s Guild, Arbitrator Gary Axon ordered that a Corrections Lieutenant be reinstated, but demoted to Officer. Arbitrator Axon held that the Sheriff terminated the Lieutenant without Just Cause because she was fired for not following rules that the Jail management had never implemented and that would have been impossible to follow as written.
Filed Under: Arbitration Rulings
September 15, 2016
By Mitchell Riese and Sarah Burke
In McMillion v. Mollenhauer, a former jailer brought a claim against an Indiana Sheriff’s Office alleging race discrimination because she was demoted from corporal, was not paid for her FMLA leave and was wrongfully terminated. The district court granted the Sheriff’s Office summary judgment because the jailer never returned to work after her FMLA leave expiredThe court also rejected the demotion claim because no pay was attached to that position and all other officers had had the title of corporal removed.
