September 12, 2016
By Jim Cline and Geoff Kiernan
In the City of Bay City, a arbitrator ruled that Michigan Fire Department’s unilateral implementation of a new social media policy for firefighters was appropriate under the management rights clause as it was within managements purview to give employees guidance on their conduct. However, the arbitrator did find the provision which required firefighters to report violations of the policy or else face discipline as being unreasonable and therefore unenforceable.
Filed Under: Arbitration Rulings
September 12, 2016
By Jim Cline and Geoff Kiernan
In Cuyahoga County Court, an arbitrator ruled that County did not meet its burden of proving just cause when it fired a detention officer for insubordination and excessive force. The arbitrator found that it was improper to fire the officer for insubordination because he did not explicitly understand the order, and he was not informed of the consequences of failing to follow the order. The arbitrator also ruled the court did not have just cause to discharge the officer for excessive force when he was only defending himself.
Filed Under: Arbitration Rulings, Discipline
September 9, 2016
By Jim Cline and Geoff Kiernan
In the City of Forest Lake, an arbitrator ruled that a Minnesota city did not violate its collective bargaining agreement when it required Officers who attended training on their days of to “flex” their work hours to limit overtime. Despite the fact that the Union tried to official repudiate the practice in bargaining the arbitrator found that this policy was not something that union was able to repudiate.
Filed Under: Arbitration Rulings
August 31, 2016
By Mitchell Riese and Mathias M. Deeg
In Green v. Pike Rd. Volunteer Fire Protection Authority, the U.S. District Court, Middle District of Alabama upheld a Fire Chief’s claim of disability discrimination despite the existence of non-discriminatory reasons for his termination. The Court found that the employer’s comments about the Fire Chief’s past drug and alcohol use cast enough doubt on the stated motivation for his termination to send the case to trial.
Filed Under: Disability Discrimination
August 31, 2016
By Mitchell Riese and Mathias M. Deeg
In Briscoe v. Village of Vernon Hills, the U.S. district Court for the Northern District of Illinois held that that a former Police Commander that was unable to perform the essential functions of his job with or without reasonable accommodation by Vernon Hills could not prevail on a claim of disability discrimination. The court found that the Commander’s inability to work removed him from the protection of the ADA.
Filed Under: Disability Discrimination
August 29, 2016
By Jim Cline and Sarah E. Derry
In Seattle Police Dispatchers’ Guild, Arbitrator Jeff Minckler determined that although the Seattle police department lacked just cause to discipline a dispatcher for a call, the other call over which he was disciplined was sufficient to uphold the punishment.
Filed Under: Arbitration Rulings, Discipline
August 19, 2016
By Jim Cline and Sarah E. Derry
In Port Orchard Police Guild, Arbitrator James Lundberg found that a detective, who received a written reprimand for mishandling a cheek swab seven years before, was disciplined without just cause. The Arbitrator reasoned it was an old mistake, and that disciplining him now “serves no reasonable purpose.”
Filed Under: Arbitration Rulings, Discipline
August 19, 2016
By Jim Cline and Jordan Jones
In Chelan County, Arbitrator James A. Lundberg found that Chelan County did not have just cause to terminate a 19-year veteran Sergeant and ordered that he be reinstated with back pay as part of the decision’s “make whole” remedy. In a case handled by the Cline and Casillas firm, Lundberg rejected the County’s argument that Sergeant had “lied,” noting that the County overlooked many holes in its case.
Filed Under: Arbitration Rulings, Discipline
July 13, 2016
By Jim Cline and Erica Shelley Nelson
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.
Filed Under: Legal Rights
July 13, 2016
By 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.
