September 24, 2012
By Rick Gautschi
In City of Tulsa, 130 LA 1039 (Arb. 2012), a police officer responded to an incident involving an intoxicated person in a parking lot on the Tulsa campus of Oklahoma State University. During the ensuing incident, the officer handcuffed the intoxicated person, and because he was not cooperating, the officer dragged him to a police vehicle. At some point, prior to being placed in the vehicle, the intoxicated person fell and hit either the concrete, or a bumper on the police vehicle.
Filed Under: Arbitration Rulings
September 21, 2012
By Kate Acheson
An arbitrator reduced a 24-year veteran firefighter’s termination for use, despite a previous last chance agreement arising from previous cocaine use in City of Cleveland, 130 LA 1077 (Cohen 2012). Arbitrator Hyman Cohen cited the City’s improper application of the last chance agreement and mitigating factors concerning the recent marijuana use to justify his reinstatement order.
Filed Under: Arbitration Rulings, Other Procedure Issues
September 21, 2012
By Kate Acheson
In City of Stillwater,130 LA 913 (Chapdelaine 2012), an arbitrator found continued bad driving constituted just cause for an officer’s termination, citing six previous accidents, the last of which resulted in his discharge that had just been overturned by a previous arbitrator. Arbitrator Chapdelaine concluded ,continued driving procedure violations upon his return was enough to uphold the discharge.
Filed Under: Arbitration Rulings
September 20, 2012
By Kate Acheson
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals holds that internal grievances do not constitute statements of “public concern,” which are entitled to First Amendment protection. In Brooks v. Arthur, two Virginia corrections officers sued the Virginia State Corrections Department supervisors under 42 U.S.C. §1983 for unlawful termination in retaliation for exercising their First Amendment rights to free speech.
Filed Under: Constitutional Rights, Free Speech Rights, Legal Rights
September 19, 2012
By Kate Acheson
In Hanford Exec. Mgmt. Employees Ass’n v. City of Hanford the court held that an employee Association could pursue its claims that its members faced unlawful discrimination in retaliation for a Vote of No Confidence against the City Manager. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California has ruled that an Association’s retaliation claim stated a potential basis for finding several constitutional violations and rejected the City’s efforts to dismiss the lawsuit for “failure to state a claim.”
Filed Under: Association Rights, Constitutional Rights, Free Speech Rights, Legal Rights
September 17, 2012
By Jim Cline
We are following other Labor and Employment Law Blogs on the Web and will bring to your attention some other articles worth reading. Here are some other articles we think are worth a look.
Filed Under: Legal Rights
September 11, 2012
By Rick Gautschi
In City and County of San Francisco, 130 LA 1043 (Arb. 2012), Until September 2010, several police officers served in the employer’s Ground Transportation Unit (GTU). Their duties ranged across a number of areas. For example, they had responsibility for enforcing licensing requirements for taxis and limousines that serve the San Francisco airport and for assisting TSA personnel regarding security and terrorism issues.
Filed Under: Arbitration Rulings
September 6, 2012
By Rick Gautschi
In Duncan v. Dakota County, No. 11-2467, August 3, 2012 (8th Cir. 2012), Toni Duncan worked as a correctional officer for Duncan County, NE, under the supervision of Chief Deputy Sheriff Rodney Herron. After leaving the job, she sued the County and Mr. Herron officials pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §1983. She claimed that through the actions of Mr. Herron, the county had, in the forms of sexually harassing and constructively discharging her, denied her equal protection in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Filed Under: Discrimination, Gender/Pregnancy Discrimination, Legal Rights
September 6, 2012
By Rick Gautschi
In Diorio v. Village of Tinley Park, No. 11 C 6724, July 6, 2012 (N.D. Ill. 2012), a K-9 officer sought overtime compensation for the off-duty time spent in the maintenance, care, training and transport of a service dog. A collective bargaining agreement provided that the employer would pay the officer the sum of $2000.00 per contract year in which he spent off-duty time maintaining, caring for, training and transporting the dog.
Filed Under: Contract Interpretation
August 31, 2012
By Cynthia McNabb
As open-enrollment season for health insurance approaches, employees may see (if they have not already) options for reducing their health insurance costs by voluntarily enrolling in an employer wellness program. Alternatively, your union may have even entered into an agreement with your employer that requires you to participate in an employer wellness program, in order to maintain your health insurance. Billed as your opportunity to save money, participation in employer wellness programs are, in reality, merely fee-shifting endeavors that penalize employees with higher deductibles, higher co-pays, or fees for failure to participate. Unfortunately, trying to sort out what your rights are with respect to these wellness programs under the ADA, HIPAA and GINA ** (“Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act) is a complicated undertaking.
