Court Upholds Chicago Police Vaccination Requirement

Lodge 7 of the Fraternal Order of Police is the exclusive collective bargaining representative of all sworn personnel below the rank of sergeant employed by the Chicago Police De­partment. The Policemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association of Illinois represents sergeants and lieutenants in different bargaining units. On August 25, 2021, the City an­nounced its intention to…

Officer’s Conduct, Not Race, Produced Discipline

Dana Harge is a patrol officer for the New York City Police Department. Harge sued his supervisors and NYPD, claiming his supervisors fabricated disciplinary actions against him, subjected him to heightened monitoring and scrutiny, issued him inappropriate “Command Discipline (CD),” and halted his promotional and career advancement because he is black. The federal Second Circuit…

Q & A

From Rhode Island:Question: Are there any good resources (policies or cases) dealing withthe issue of legalized recreational marijuana and police in terms of any departmentsthat have proposed restrictions and any bargaining that has takenplace that would impact off-duty use? Answer: It’s still early yet, and no nationally reported cases so far. Thebig development has been…

Firefighter Schedule Change Illegal Discrimination

Anthony Copeland, a former firefighter of 26 years, was elected mayor of the City of East Chicago, Indiana in 2010. Shortly after he was elected, Copeland implemented certain cost-cutting measures to address the City’s deficit. One such effort was freezing the salaries and benefits of East Chicago firefighters, including abolishing terminal leave, freezing longevity pay…

Union Fails To Timely Demand To Bargain Over Pension Changes

Deputy sheriffs in Orange County in California are represented by the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs (AOCDS). The Orange County Employees Retirement System (OCERS) provides retirement benefits for AOCDS members. The County makes employer pension contributions to OCERS and collects employee pension contributions from AOCDS bargaining unit members and remits those funds to OCERS.…

No Religious Freedom Exception To Photographs In Uniform

Thomas Swartz was a firefighter working for the Bourne Fire Department in Massachusetts. All members of the Department had an identification card as well as an accountability tag. Both featured a picture of the firefighter. The photographs on the identification cards and accountability tags were inconsistent – some firefighters wore t-shirts in their photographs while…

Sergeant Has Privacy Interest In Dropbox Account Created With Employer’s Email

This is a follow-up to the article Qualified Immunity Shields Employer From Liability For Illegal Dropbox Search in the June 2022 issue of Public Safety Labor News. Steven Bowers was a detective sergeant for the Taylor County Sher­iff’s Department in Wisconsin. In February 2017, the Department was working with the television program Cold Justice on…

Failure To Discipline Officer Belies Employer’s Claim Of ‘Immediate Threat To Public’

When the Town of Kingston, Massachusetts lost an arbitration decision and was ordered to reinstate a member of the Kingston Police Superior Officers Union, the Town challenged the decision in the Massa­chusetts Court of Appeals. In a brief, three-page decision, the Court rejected the Town’s arguments. The Court began by accepting the Town’s basic argument…

Officer Loses Job To Facebook Post

Shaina Kirkland served as a patrol officer with the City of Maryville’s po­lice department in Tennessee. While in that role, Kirkland periodically used her Facebook account to criticize the County Sheriff. Kirkland’s supervisors became concerned that her posts would under­mine the Department’s relationship with their sister law enforcement agency, so they asked her to stop.…

Firefighter’s Case Illustrates Difference Between Summary Judgment And Motions To Dismiss

At times in Public Safety Labor News, we’ll write about a case involving a motion for “summary judgment” or a “motion to dismiss.” A case involving Delaware firefighter Hiram Whatley gives us a great platform to describe the difference between the two motions. Whatley was a Wilmington firefight­er for more than two decades. In June…

Not Unconstitutional To Bar Recording IA Interviews

Cincinnati residents may lodge police misconduct complaints with the City’s Citizen Complaint Authority. The Authority consists of a team of investigators, an executive director appointed by the city manager, and a seven-person board appointed by the mayor. In response to a complaint, the Authority conducts an investigation that usually includes interviews with the relevant officers,…

Member Cannot Bring Bad Faith Bargaining Charge Against Union

Lodge 93 of the Fraternal Order of Police represents two collective bar­gaining units at the Orange County Sheriff’s Department in Florida. One is made up of deputies and another of sergeants and corporals. On August 4, 2022, the Sheriff’s Negotiation Team presented a wage proposal to address several concerns raised by Lodge 93 in previous…

Reasonable Accommodation And Cold Baths

Sergeant Cardell Bright worked for the jail in St. James Parish, Louisiana. When Bright was hired in April 2015, he had a medical problem with his bowels, was recovering from rectal surgery, and was diabetic. Bright’s diabetes is sensi­tive to stress, which causes low blood sugar and, ultimately diarrhea. When Bright experiences diarrhea, his rectum…