STAMFORD, CT – Asbestos tests paid for by the police union membership have led to the evacuation of the first-floor offices of the Narcotics and Organized Crime Unit inside police headquarters. The tests performed earlier this month found asbestos fibers in each of the five locations tested in different parts of the building, according to […]
The union representing Riverside County sheriff’s deputies has asked a judge to prevent the county from requiring deputies to use body-mounted video cameras, asserting that officials failed to negotiate the use of the new equipment. Some Riverside County deputies have tested the cameras voluntarily. Based on those results, the Sheriff’s Department requested and received approval […]
Sheriffs are campaigning to pressure Google Inc. to turn off a feature on its Waze traffic software that warns drivers when police are nearby. They say one of the technology industry’s most popular mobile apps could put officers’ lives in danger from would-be police killers who can find where their targets are parked. Waze, which […]
HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, NJ &# 150; Municipalities continue to use part-time officers as an affordable way to add manpower to their police departments, but critics point to safety concerns of officers and say this cannot be the future of policing in New Jersey. The trend of hiring Class II police officers has gained momentum over the […]
JACKSONVILLE, FL – A job fair hosted by Jacksonville’s police union offering positions elsewhere – called a slap in the face by the sheriff – is merely a move to look out for the rank and file, the union’s president said. Criticism for the two-day fair for current and retired officers that opened Wednesday at […]
Leonard Avila was a police officer for the City of Los Angeles. In January 2008, Avila testified under subpoena in a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) suit against the City of Los Angeles in the Central District of California brought by a fellow officer who sought overtime for working through his lunch hour. Avila testified […]
Kankakee County, Illinois and the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Labor Council are parties to a collective bargaining agreement covering the County’s corrections officers. When the County terminated Corrections Officer Nicholas Brais, the FOP challenged the termination in arbitration. The case stemmed from an incident on September 22, 2010, when members of the County’s Major […]
Maintaining the public’s trust is as synonymous with law enforcement as the slogan “to protect and serve.” A sustained allegation of untruthfulness has long been regarded a career killer for police officers. Recent years have seen a significant impact from Brady v. Maryland, the U.S. Supreme Court case that requires prosecutors to disclose exculpatory evidence […]
In the 34 years that the State of Kentucky has had a Police Officer’s Bill of Rights statute providing due process for officers under internal investigation, the Kentucky Supreme Court had never considered the issue of whether the Bill of Rights applied exclusively to the investigation of complaints made by citizens as opposed to those […]
Courts have long held that collective bargaining is not a constitutionally-protected right. Public sector unions are granted the right to negotiate the terms and conditions of employment either by state statute or, in states without a bargaining law, by local charter or ordinance. As was seen in Wisconsin and Ohio in the last few years, […]
Donald Berg was a Lieutenant with the Long Ridge, Connecticut Fire Company until his termination in 2008. After he was terminated, Berg filed unfair labor practice charges with the State Board of Labor Relations against the Fire Company and the Stamford Career Firefighters Association, his labor organization. Berg alleged that the Fire Company terminated him […]
There has been little litigation in the public sector about the circumstances under which an employer can issue a “no-contact” order to an employee under investigation, prohibiting the employee from discussing the matter with others. To be sure, the National Labor Relations Board has addressed the issue in the private sector, holding that “to justify […]
For most of his 17-year career as a Westchester County, New York Department of Corrections officer, Kenneth Park worked in what a court described as “an old jail building that was poorly ventilated and contained an abundance of mold, mildew and other contaminants.” When Park was diagnosed with serious respiratory and heart conditions, he filed […]
Bruce VanMeter was employed by the New Jersey Department of Corrections as a senior corrections officer and was a member of the Public Employees Retirement System. His duties included responding to “Code 33” emergency calls, which required him to run to the scene of the alert. While running to a Code 33 call in December […]
One of the rights afforded public safety officers under California’s Public Safety Procedural Bill of Rights is an administrative appeal of any punitive action or denial of promotion on grounds other than merit. The Bill of Rights defines “punitive action” as “any action that may lead to dismissal, demotion, suspension, reduction in salary, written reprimand, […]
