December 12, 2014
By Erica Shelley Nelson and Kasey Burton
In 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.
Filed Under: Race Discrimination
December 5, 2014
By Jordan Jones
In 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.
Filed Under: USERRA
November 26, 2014
By Geoff Kiernan
In City of Butler, an arbitrator held that the City did not violate its CBA when it paid a police sergeant time and a half in overtime pay for working during a holiday parade, rather than providing both overtime pay and holiday pay premium.
Filed Under: Arbitration Rulings, Contract Interpretation
November 26, 2014
By Geoff Kiernan
In Broward County Sheriff’s Office, the Arbitrator held that the city could not unilaterally change the way in which the Union President was paid for doing Union work on the clock, especially when such a change violated an established past practice.
Filed Under: Arbitration Rulings, Contract Interpretation
October 28, 2014
By Erica Shelley Nelson
In Anderson v. City & Cnty. of San Francisco, the Ninth Circuit reversed the granting of summary judgment to the San Francisco County on claims of sex discrimination, in its jail staffing policies. The court held that the County was unable to meet its burden in demonstrating that it was entitled to a “bona fide occupational qualification” (BFOQ) defense for a policy that excluded male corrections deputies from supervising female inmates.
Filed Under: Discrimination, Gender/Pregnancy Discrimination
October 21, 2014
By Kasey Burton
In Gethers v. Harrison, the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of North Carolina held that a sheriff’s office did not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of gender when it demoted a female detention officer. The female officer refused to leave the bathroom area while a male inmate was showering. Two other male officers were present, and the inmate was no longer agitated or presenting any sort of threat. Consequently, the female officer’s presence was determined unnecessary and inappropriate. During the course of the investigation following the demotion, the Sheriff concluded that Gethers was not truthful and subsequently terminated her on that basis.
Filed Under: Discrimination, Gender/Pregnancy Discrimination
October 6, 2014
By Kasey Burton
In Morshed v County of Lake, the Court held that years of slurs and constant denigration were enough to allow Police Officer Morshed to pursue a national origin harassment claim even though he lost no pay or benefits.
Filed Under: Discrimination, Race Discrimination
September 16, 2014
By Anthony Rice
In Spokane Valley Fire Dep't, Arbitrator Guy Coss dismissed a Spokane Valley Fire Department (SVFD) employee’s grievance as not arbitrable, because he exhausted his remedy by first appealing to the Civil Service Commission.
Filed Under: Arbitration Rulings, Discipline, Other Procedure Issues
September 16, 2014
By Anthony Rice
In City of West Palm Beach, the arbitrator held the grievance was not arbitrable, because the captain (grievant) was outside the bargaining unit and the CBA contained no language concerning grieving a captain’s demotion.
Filed Under: Arbitration Rulings, Discipline, Other Procedure Issues
September 12, 2014
By Jordan Jones
In City of Marion, the arbitrator denied the police dispatcher’s grievance for in-service incentive training pay finding that the grievance was not filed timely under the CBA.
