By Mitchel Wilson
In an unpublished decision Nazario v. City of Riverside, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the trial court’s decision to dismiss a discharged Riverside PD officer’s Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (“USERRA”) claims, denying him a trial, because he could not show he was fired and not rehired because of his military service.
By Anthony Rice
In CSC Applied Technologies, the arbitrator sustained the grievance finding that Management overlooked mitigating factors when it terminated an assistant fire chief from service on the grounds that he failed to meet medical requirements. [Read more…]
By Mitchel Wilson
In Mercer v. Cook County, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, (in an unpublished opinion) upheld the trial court’s decision to dismiss Corrections Sergeant Pamela Mercer’s claims of Gender Discrimination and Hostile Work Environment. It agreed with the lower court because Mercer could not show the conduct directed at her was because of gender and her transfer was not an adverse employer action and the incidents cited were not severe/pervasive enough to alter the Officer’s working conditions. [Read more…]
By Jim Cline
F
or those of our readers who would like a deeper understanding of the context and background of collective-bargaining rights, especially those public sector and public-safety employees, Toledo Law Professor Joseph Slater has published a very readable and condensed history of United States public-sector collective bargaining law. While Slater’s article is entitled “The Strangely Unsettled State of Public-Sector Labor in the past 30 Years,” he actually takes events back, nearly 100 years ago to the Boston Police Strike of 1919. His focus on the 30-years, marks the departure point for which he believes public-sector collective-bargaining rights issues became more partisan and less stable.
By Anthony Rice
In Watkins v. City of Montgomery, fifty-four Fire Suppression Lieutenants failed to convince a federal district court that they were not exempt from the overtime requirements under the FLSA under the City of Montgomery’s claimed “executive” exemption.
By Mitchel Wilson
In Baltimore County, Arbitrator Richard Trotter granted the Union’s grievance for lost compensation for Deputy Sheriffs who are subject to being called into work while they are off duty.
By Mitchel Wilson
In Municipality of Anchorage, Arbitrator Robert Landau concluded that because the City of Anchorage changed the Police Support work schedule, it had improperly changed a working condition in violation of the CBA.
By Mitchel Wilson
In Aldridge v. Lake Cnty. Sheriff’s Office, an Illinois federal trial court dismissed the Lake County’s motion for summary judgment and permitted a female deputy’s gender discrimination claims to go to trial. The Court concluded, the various evidence including the statements that the Sheriff “wanted to give the boys a chance” at the K-9 assignment, was enough to demonstrate a viable discrimination claim.
By Anthony Rice
In City of Lorain, the arbitrator found the Ohio City had just cause for the termination of an EMT based on his voluntarily resignation to avoid prosecution of “office theft.”
By Anthony R
In Waters v. City of Dallas, the Fifth Ciruit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court ruling dismissing a Dallas Police Lieutenant’s racial discrimination claim.
Marlon Waters, an African-American male, was employed as a lieutenant by the Dallas Police Department (DPD). Waters’ discrimination claim resulted from circumstances surrounding the 2010 NBA All-Star Game. Over the course of the NBA All-Star event, a snow storm hit Dallas. Waters, one of the designated watch commanders for the event, reacted by allowing his subordinates to report to work early. However, because of budgetary constraints, DPD commanders (Watson included) were ordered to minimize overtime expenditures.
