January 28, 2013
By Kate Acheson and Jim Cline
In Dill v. City of Clarksville, a Tennessee Court of Appeals vacated the termination of a police officer because that officer was deprived of due process in the termination proceedings. Although there was sufficient evidence to support the decision to discipline the officer, the police chief failed to follow the procedure set out in the city code -- requiring all relevant investigation materials be forwarded to human resources prior to taking disciplinary.
Filed Under: Discipline, Prediscipline Procedure
January 18, 2013
By David Worley
In Federal Bureau of Prisons (130 LA 1745 (Szuter, 2012), a one-day suspension was overturned entirely based on the lengthy delay that elapsed between the time of the infraction and the time of the discipline. While the arbitrator concluded that just cause existed to discipline the employee for the infraction, he also concluded that the contract was violated by the 15 month delay in completing the investigation.
Filed Under: Discipline, Prediscipline Procedure
January 18, 2013
By David Worley
In Dove v. Community Education Centers, a Pennsylvania federal district court held that a terminated corrections officer could proceed with his retaliation claim, when he was terminated after he had requested leave for his symptoms of depression. The court also upheld an interference claim against the employer for not informing him of his available FMLA leave. While the court was not deciding the merits of the claims, it was deciding, upon a summary judgment motion, whether the claims were sufficient to proceed to a trial.
Filed Under: Disability Discrimination, Discrimination
January 18, 2013
By David Worley
An arbitrator in City of Canton, ruled that Canton Police Sergeants are entitled to have the Patrol Officer’s signing bonus included in the equation when calculating the Sergeant’s contractually, guaranteed rank differential agreement
Filed Under: Arbitration Rulings
January 11, 2013
By Kate Acheson
In Brubach v. City of Albuquerque, a group of city security guards claimed the City violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) by failing to compensate them for pre-shift briefings. The City of Albuquerque moved to dismiss the guards’ complaint, claiming the time was voluntary. The federal court denied the City’s request, noting that enough dispute of fact existed to require a jury to decide the matter. The City also claimed the time was de minimis – so small it is legally insignificant. The court rejected this argument as a matter of law.
Filed Under: FLSA
January 11, 2013
By Kate Acheson
In Rogers v. Georgia Dep't of Corr., a federal district court in Georgia considered whether an internal investigator’s threat of termination and presentation of a pre-written resignation letter is sufficient to show that a resignation was coerced. The court found that, although the knowledge of impending discipline alone is not enough to make a resignation involuntary, the threat and pre-written letter was enough evidence to possibly persuade a jury that the employee’s termination was not voluntary.
Filed Under: Discipline, Other Procedure Issues, Prediscipline Procedure
January 4, 2013
By Kate Acheson
The Seventh Circuit recently found, in Porter v. City of Chicago, that an offer to work a later shift so an employee could still attend her morning church service was a reasonable accommodation. Although the employee wished to have all of Sunday off and was not willing to work the later shift, the Seventh Circuit found, that did not make the employer’s offer unreasonable.
Filed Under: Discrimination, Legal Rights, Religion Discrimination
January 3, 2013
By Kate Acheson
A trooper who complained numerous times of disparate treatment, filed suit after his eventual termination, claiming his employer violated Title VII by discriminating and retaliating against him due to his race. In Reaves v. Pennsylvania State Police, the Pennsylvania District Court found, “although the evidence [was] rather tenuous,” enough material dispute of fact existed for the trooper’s retaliation claim to survive summary judgment and go to the jury. The trooper’s other Title VII claim – for discrimination – lacked sufficient evidence and was rejected as a matter of law.
Filed Under: Discrimination, Legal Rights, Race Discrimination
December 14, 2012
By Kate Acheson
Officer Von Rhine, an employee of Camden, NJ County Sheriff's Department, claimed his Department violated his First Amendment rights to Free Speech by transferring him in retaliation, for complaints he made against his boss. The Federal Court for the District of New Jersey dismissed this claim in Von Rhine v. Camden County Sherriff’s Office.
Filed Under: Constitutional Rights, Free Speech Rights, Legal Rights
December 10, 2012
By Kate Acheson
In Fossesigurani v. City of Bridgeport Fire Dept., the Connecticut Federal Court dismissed an assistant city fire chief’s American with Disabilities Act claims, arising from a fire commissioner’s allegedly derogatory comment. The court found the comment alone was insufficient proof of an adverse employment action, or a hostile work environment under the ADA.
