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.
By Anthony Rice
In City of Memphis v. Lesley, the court held that failing to provide an officer with a statement of charges against her, violated her due process right where her probationary period was over, despite having been out of the academy for less than a year. [Read more…]
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.
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.
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.
By Emily Nelson
In Mariano v. Borough of Dickson City, a Pennsylvania Federal District Court held that the City was not entitled to dismissal of a terminated police officer’s claim that his right to due process was violated when he was fired shortly after filing grievances.
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…]
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…]
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.
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.
