This article appears in the September 2021 issue of our monthly newsletter, Public Safety Labor News. Many public employers are exploring or have implemented requirements that public safety employees provide proof of vaccination and, absent such proof, submit to periodic COVID-19 testing. Some employers are simply mandating that all employees be vaccinated. The result has […]
From New York:Question: I have a union member that took a voluntary demotion due to some misconduct. The settlement agreement which was signed does not indicate a deduction or reduced pay, it just states the member will be demoted from sergeant to deputy. The County failed to reduce the member’s pay when the demotion happened […]
Waukesha County, Wisconsin is party to a collective bargaining agreement with the Waukesha Deputy Sheriffs Labor Union. On December 5, 2019, Steven Miksch, who is a member of the Union, was directed to meet with Nick Ollinger and Chad Niles, both of whom were supervisors. Niles and Ollinger each reviewed a work report with Miksch […]
A New Jersey police officer identified by the court only as “M.A.” began his employment as a municipal police officer on January 1, 1988. From January 2004 to March 2007, M.A., who had been diagnosed with depressive disorder and anxiety, was involved in a series of off-duty psychological incidents, some of which required he be […]
Jeffrey Neal is a Cincinnati fire lieutenant. In 2015, the Department began accepting internal applications for fire captain and administered promotional exams as part of that process. Neal applied for the advancement and participated in the promotional exam, which consisted of five sections. The first two sections presented objective, multiple choice questions; whereas the remaining […]
Christopher Rocap began working as a New Jersey State Police trooper in 1993. In 2001, he joined the Technical Emergency and Mission Specialist Unit (TEAMS), which specializes in dangerous and technical assignments. Rocap’s experiences with TEAMS included rescuing persons trapped in burning buildings, recovering the bodies of drowning victims, engaging and talking down suicidal persons, […]
Eric Reetz is a police officer with the City of Saint Paul, Minnesota. Reetz also worked part time as a private security guard at the Dorothy Day Center – a homeless shelter in Saint Paul – that is operated by Catholic Charities. Under Reetz’s agreement with Catholic Charities, he was described as an independent contractor […]
Firefighters working for Orange Township in Ohio operate in work groups. Some work groups include both full-time and part-time firefighters. In October 2016, Marcus Musser began working as a part-time firefighter at Station 361 in what was referred to as “I-Unit.” In September 2019, Musser asked one of his captains whether he could transfer to […]
In a factually bizarre case, the General Counsel for Florida’s Public Employment Relations Commission stressed what is and what is not covered by a union’s duty of fair representation. The unfair labor practice charge was filed by Marcus Brinson, an internal affairs investigator for the University of Florida Police Department (UFPD). Brinson is a member […]
Jeffrey Kengerski was a captain at the Allegheny County Jail in Pennsylvania. In April 2015, Kengerski submitted a written complaint to Orlando Harper, Warden of the Allegheny County Jail. This complaint was against Robyn McCall, a white female employee at the jail who had been promoted to Major in December 2014. In his complaint, Kengerski […]
Jason Briley worked for the City of West Covina as a deputy fire marshal. As deputy fire marshal, Briley oversaw the operations of the Fire Prevention Bureau, which included checking building code plans for Fire Code compliance, inspecting existing buildings for compliance, and conducting fire investigations. Briley was initially supervised by Larry Whithorn, then the […]
Many public employers are exploring or have implemented requirements that public safety employees provide proof of vaccination and, absent such proof, submit to periodic COVID-19 testing. Some employers are simply mandating that all employees be vaccinated. The result has been a barrage of questions from employees as to the legality of these types of orders. […]
