By Anthony Rice
In City of Sunrise, the Arbitrator concluded his hands were tied by a Last Chance Agreement (LCA) signed by a dispatcher, where the LCA was enforceable and the dispatcher violated its terms.
June 17, 2014 by
City’s Attempt to Withhold Officer’s Annual Wage Increase Violates CBA
By Anthony Rice
In City of Springdale, the Arbitrator ruled that the City violated the CBA when it refused to grant an officer’s wage increase after she was out on maternity and injury leave, where the intent of the parties surrounding the CBA was to grant the wage increase on the anniversary of the officer’s date of hire.
May 9, 2014 by
New Mexico Firefighter Reinstated after Discharge for Failing to Report Misconduct
By Jordan Jones
In City of Farmington, the arbitrator found that a firefighter’s termination that included an allegation of failure to report his off duty DUI was without just cause because (1) the employer’s investigation was not conducted fairly and objectively, (2) the employer did not obtain substantial evidence that the employee was guilty, and (3) the discipline was not reasonably related to the incident.
May 2, 2014 by
Toledo Firefighter’s Grievance for Time Off Sustained Over City’s Objections
By Jordan Jones
In City of Toledo, the arbitrator sustained an Ohio firefighter’s grievance for being denied use of 24 hours of compensatory time off, after reviewing the Collective Bargaining Agreement language.
March 14, 2014 by
City’s Attempt to Deny Officer’s Widow Her Life Insurance is Thwarted by Arbitration
By Anthony Rice
In City of Chicago Police Dep’t,, 132 LA 641 (Bierig 2012), the arbitrator found the parties’ intent defined an ambiguous word being used by the City to deny an officer’s widow her life insurance.
March 7, 2014 by
Arbitrator Construes CBA to Say Past Holiday Work Does Not Create an Expectation for Future Holiday Work
By Anthony Rice
In the City of Chicago, the arbitrator denied the grievance alleging a CBA violation for the City’s decision not to staff a Patrol Officer on a holiday, despite having done so in the past.
At the time of the alleged CBA violation, the Grievant, who is currently a Sergeant in the Chicago P.D., was a Patrol Officer detailed to the Special Events Unit. The Special Events Unit is responsible for coordinating the P.D.’s response to special events, such as parades, motorcades, and movie shoots. Thus, on holidays like Lincoln’s Birthday, at issue here, the Grievant normally is assigned work. However, in this case the Grievant was not “required to work” his regular tour of duty on the contractual holiday because The Special Events Unit had been declared “non-essential” by the City. The Union grieved, asserting the City abused its Management rights.
February 21, 2014 by
Police Officer Denied Tuition Reimbursement Due to City’s Budgetary Constraints
By Jordan Jones
In City of Troy, the arbitrator rejected a grievance over the City’s denial of a police officer’s tuition reimbursement request due to the City’s budgetary constraints.
Police officer Misirian informed his employer that he planned on registering for two graduate courses at a university and that he was seeking tuition reimbursement. The City subsequently denied the police officer’s request stating that “2013 [f]unding does not allow for tuition reimbursement at this time.” In other words, the City claimed their budget would not allow for it. [Read more…]
February 12, 2014 by
City of Chicago has Discretion in Assigning Mandatory Overtime for Police Officers
By Jordan Jones
In City of Chicago, the arbitrator, citing “management rights” denied police officers’ grievance for not being assigned overtime for “Operation Safe Summer.”
Police officers from the First District of the City of Chicago filed this grievance after being denied overtime for Operation Safe Summer. Operation Safe Summer was a program designed to counter gang violence in specific high crime areas of the City. The City took the position that only current gang and tactical team officers were eligible for this assignment. [Read more…]
December 11, 2013 by
Florida Fire Department that Ordered Mass Drug Testing Over Missing Morphine Does Not Violated the CBA, Arbitrator Rules
By Anthony Rice
In the City of Ocala, an arbitrator found that the City did not violate the CBA when it urine tested 19 firefighters who had access to two fire trucks from which narcotics went missing.
December 9, 2013 by
Suspension Reduced for Chicago Officer Who Attempted to Help His Friend—a Bombing Suspect
By Anthony Rice
In City of Chicago, the arbitrator reduced the Grievant’s suspension from 20 days to 10 days for a Chicago officer charged with interference in the execution of search warrant during an investigation of a car bombing by a suburban Police Department in which the Officer’s friend was a suspect. The arbitrator ordered the reduction after he concluded that the Officer did not interfere with the execution of a search warrant, but did agree that the Officer had been verbally abusive to the investigating officers.
