August 28, 2012
By Mitchell Riese
A recent decision from U.S. l District Court in Arizona denied the City of Prescott, Arizona’s attempt to dismiss a lawsuit by a former firefighter, who alleged that he had been coerced into retiring by being threatened with criminal charges for having traded shifts. In Vicente v. City of Prescott, AZ, 33 IER Cases 1306 (D. Ariz. 2012), Vicente, who had been a firefighter for almost 20 years and a Captain for 10, was vice president of the firefighters union.
Filed Under: Constitutional Rights, Free Speech Rights, Legal Rights
August 27, 2012
By Rick Gautschi
In Woodford County, 130 LA 843, May 12, 2012, since prior to 2004, under a collective bargaining agreement, correctional officers in Woodford County, IL were authorized up to 12 sick days in a given fiscal year. In December 2004, the Sheriff’s Department revised an existing policy (Policy) to authorize requests for medical certification from correctional officers after the officers had used five sick days in a given fiscal year.
Filed Under: Arbitration Rulings
August 23, 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’s some other articles we think are worth a look.
Filed Under: Legal Rights
August 20, 2012
By Rick Gautschi
In State of Ariz. v. City of Cottonwood, 115 FEP Cases 998, No. CV-11-2-1576-PHX-GMS, July 20, 2012, D. Az., sometime around 2000, as the result of agreements with the Arizona Peace Officers Standards and Training Board (AZ POST) and other law enforcement agencies in Arizona, Fitness Intervention Technologies (FIT) conducted a study for the purpose of developing a physical fitness test for law enforcement officers.
Filed Under: Discrimination, Gender/Pregnancy Discrimination
August 17, 2012
By Rick Gautschi
In City and County of Denver, 130 LA 837, May 21, 2012, a police officer began his regular shift during the afternoon of the day, immediately preceding a holiday. He ended his shift at 2:00 a.m. on the holiday, which was the officer’s scheduled day off. For the holiday, initially, the employer paid the officer for eight hours of work at his base rate of pay, i.e., holiday pay, plus pay at one and one-half times his base rate for the two hours that he actually worked on the holiday, i.e., holiday premium pay. Subsequently, the employer debited his pay for two hours, at the base rate, on the ground that applicable provisions in the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) required the employer to pay a total of eight hours for any combination of holiday pay and holiday premium pay. Consequently, the officer was entitled to receive two hours of holiday premium pay and six hours of holiday pay. The union argued that the same provisions in the CBA obligated the employer to pay employees who worked on a holiday eight hours of holiday pay plus holiday premium pay for the hours that the employees actually worked on the holiday.
Filed Under: Arbitration Rulings
August 16, 2012
By Cynthia McNabb
In the ever-evolving legal environment regarding use of social media in and outside the workplace, a new case before the 4th Circuit is getting quite a bit of attention. In Bland v. Roberts, a deputy sheriff (along with five others) went on his Facebook page and, like millions of others every day, clicked the “like” button on a page he was viewing. The page happened to be a political page for a candidate running against his boss, the Sheriff of Hampton, VA. Once his boss was re-elected, Deputy Carter, along with Bland, et. all were terminated. The employer alleged that the employees were terminated for poor work performance and their support of the opposing candidate had disrupted the workplace.
Filed Under: Constitutional Rights, Free Speech Rights, Legal Rights
August 16, 2012
By Rick Gautschi
City of Houston v. Proler, No. 14-10-00971-CV, Texas Court of Appeals, Fourteenth District, May 31, 2012 , dur g March 2006, a capta a fire suppression unit the Houston Fire Department (HFD) responded, along with firefighters that he supervised, to a build g fire. While at the scene of the fire, the capta failed to follow orders and was found stand g a smoke-filled room. Medics at the scene determ ed that his blood pressure was low. Subsequently, at the direction of the HFD, he sought medical treatment.
Filed Under: Disability Discrimination
August 16, 2012
By Rick Gautschi
In M.O.C.H.A, Soc’y, Inc. v. City of Buffalo, Nos. 11-2184-cv and 10-2168-cv, July 30, 2012, 2nd Cir.,as permitted by a state statute, in late 1997, the City of Buffalo contracted with the state of New York’s Civil Service Department (CSD) to have the CSD develop an examination to be administered to fire fighters who sought promotions to the position of fire lieutenant. In response to the request, an associate personnel examiner at CSD spent approximately three years performing a job analysis of fire fighters at all ranks in departments across the state.
Filed Under: Race Discrimination
August 16, 2012
By Rick Gautschi
In Passananti v. Cook County, No. 11-1182, Slip Opinion, July 20, 2012, 7th Cir., Beginning in 2004, over a period of approximately three years, a former director of the Day Reporting Center (DRC) in Cook County, IL, on numerous occasions, referred to the then-deputy director, Kimberly Passananti, as a “bitch.” At times, references came in face-to-face meetings between director and Ms. Passananti. On other occasions, the director made the references in front of other employees and he used the same term to refer to other women employees at the DRC.
Filed Under: Gender/Pregnancy Discrimination
August 14, 2012
By Rick Gautschi
In Jeudy v. Attorney General, Department of Justice, No. 11-15838, Slip. Opinion, July 26, 2012, 11th Cir.,during her probationary period of employment, a pregnant corrections officer informed her employer that as the result of her pregnancy, she experienced severe pelvic pain caused by fibroids on her uterus. According to the officer, the severe pain limited her ability to walk, stand and climb stairs. She requested an accommodation in the form of being allowed to change her shift and work while seated.
