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…
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…
Tyler Sapp was a police officer for the Forest Preserves of Cook County in Illinois. Among other duties, Forest Preserves police officers are expected to respond to emergency calls for service and provide direction and assistance during emergencies such as serious illness or injury, severe weather, fires, and bomb threats. The Preserves’ job description requires…
Larry Tate has worked for the Sheriff of Cook County, Illinois, in the Department of Corrections since 2007. In his third year as a correctional officer, Tate suffered a back injury. He returned to work under medical restrictions that required him to “avoid situations in which there is a significant chance of violence or conflict.”…
Barry Mesmer was a police officer with the Township of Evesham, New Jersey. On February 14, 2016, Mesmer was dispatched in response to a call regarding a potential suicide. Based on the address, Mesmer knew he was driving to the home of M.H., an Evesham Township firefighter. Mesmer described his relationship with M.H. as professional,…
Officer James LaCroix and Detective Renee Payne-Callender are members of the Boston Police Department. On March 6, 2015, LaCroix sustained back and hip injuries while he was on duty. LaCroix was placed on leave due to his injuries and remained out of work until he was cleared to return by his doctors in December 2018,…
Michael Holliday served eight years in the Marine Corps and was honorably discharged in 2003. He served one combat tour in Iraq and Kuwait in 2003. Holliday was diagnosed with PTSD in the summer of 2017. On December 16, 2017, while employed by the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office (OPSO) in Louisiana as a Lieutenant, Holliday’s neighbor Nihaya Mansour – who had…
Jesse LeBlanc served as a police officer with the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in St. Cloud, Minnesota from 2012 to 2018. The Department uses a “Panama Schedule,” where officers work in teams of two. In a two-week period, two teams work only day shifts, from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and two teams…
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.…
Salik Bey, Terrel Joseph, Steven Seymour, and Clyde Phillips (the Firefighters) are Black men who were or still are firefighters with the New York City Fire Department. Each of them suffers from a skin condition called Pseudofolliculitis Barbae (PFB), which results in persistent irritation and pain following shaving. The effects of shaving with PFB can…
When Christopher Gibbs applied to be a Pittsburgh policeman, he passed the written test and got a conditional job offer. After that, Pennsylvania Law required him to “be personally examined by a licensed psychologist and found to be psychologically capable of exercising appropriate judgment or restraint in performing the duties of a police officer.” When…
Brad Sandefur was a corrections officer for the Sheriff of Cook County, Illinois. He suffers from disk desiccation in his spine and osteoarthritis in his knees. Both conditions can cause intermittent pain for weeks at a time. In 2011, Sandefur applied for and received a handicapped parking placard from the Illinois Secretary of State. His…
Detective Christopher Sardo worked for the Village of Franklin Park, Illinois. Sardo served in the United States Marine Corps from 1987 to 1991, including a tour of duty in Desert Storm. Besides physical danger, his service exposed him to several traumatic events, including fellow Marines being shot at and killed. After his discharge, Sardo experienced…
Kristal Scott suffered multiple injuries during the time that she was employed as a Detroit police officer. In 2011, she fell down the stairs while on duty responding to a call. On July 13, 2012, during job-required scooter training, she crashed her scooter into a metal barricade at low speed when an insect flew into…
Salik Bey and three of his colleagues are African-American men who were employed as firefighters by the Fire Department of the City of New York. They suffer from Pseudofolliculitis Barbae (PFB), a physiological condition that causes disfigurement of the skin in the hair-bearing areas of the chin, cheek, and neck and which affects approximately 45%…
Carlos Melo served for 19 years as a police officer in Somerville, Massachusetts. In 2002, he suffered an injury that ultimately resulted in a loss of almost all vision in his left eye. Not long after the injury, physicians cleared him to return to duty without restriction. In 2007, after serving several years as a…
Bryan Gipson worked for the Tawas Police Authority in Michigan for a few years when he was in a serious car accident. Gipson hurt his back so badly that he was unable to return to work for over six months. When he did return, he needed accommodations. After a few months of work, his doctor…
Darrell Hartwell worked as a firefighter/EMT for Naval Support Activity (NSA) Panama City for more than 16 years, until he was fired by Chief James Elston. For his entire career at the Department, Hartwell had trouble getting to work on time. The firefighters at NSA Panama City worked alternating 24-hour shifts starting at 7:00 AM.…
Thomas Monroe worked as a corrections officer with the Florida Department of Corrections. Monroe was diagnosed with PTSD and requested an indefinite leave of absence. Shortly thereafter, the Department terminated his employment. Monroe sued, claiming he was the victim of disability discrimination. The federal 11th Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed and dismissed Monroe’s lawsuit. The…
Kent Donley was a police officer with the Village of Yorkville in New York. On July 5, 2011, the Village mayor and the board of trustees were presented with a written complaint from a resident regarding an incident with Donley. The complaint alleged that Donley had approached the resident and her daughter in the resident’s…
Carlos Melo began working as a police officer for the City of Somerville, Massachusetts in 1997. He injured his left eye while on duty in October 2002. The following year, after multiple surgeries, he returned to work without restrictions. In 2007, he became a station officer, which required him to answer police calls, run criminal…
Natasha McIntyre was a sergeant with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. McIntyre worked the day shift, which runs from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., due to her seniority. In February 2016, McIntyre’s drug test revealed the presence of amphetamines. McIntyre had been prescribed the drug Adderall to treat her ADHD. She contacted Metro regarding…
Repeating a result that has been reached many times in courts across the country, the federal Second Circuit Court of Appeals has illustrated how difficult it is for public safety employees to claim that their employers should accommodate their disabilities by assignment to a light-duty position. The case involved Sergeant Michael Garvey of the Town…
While he was on duty on August 12, 2014, Baltimore Police Officer Carlos Couret-Rios was in a car that was rear-ended. His head snapped forward and back and he briefly lost consciousness. When he regained consciousness and got out of the car, he experienced severe vertigo. A physician diagnosed him with post-concussion syndrome and prescribed…
While working as an Omaha Police Department (OPD) officer, Jason Christensen sought leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to get treatment for his alcoholism. He was granted FMLA leave in April 2015, until he exhausted his leave on or about July 18, 2015. Christensen sought voluntary inpatient alcohol treatment at Valley Hope…
