This month’s cases:

* Employer May Not Unilaterally Impose Waiver Of Right To Bargain, Gator Lodge Number 67, FOP v. City of Gainesville, 46 FPER ¶ 169 (Fla. PERC 2019).* Not Improper ‘Direct Dealing’ For Negotiators To Have Sidebar Discussion, Jamison v. East Lake Tarpon Special Fire Control District, 46 FPER ¶ 153 (Fla. PERC Gen. Coun. 2019)* Firefighter Staffing Per Shift Negotiable, City of Everett v. PERC, 2019 WL 5541502 (Wash. App. 2019).* Pre-Statement Video Review Is A Negotiable Topic, Fraternal Order of Police v. City of Pittsburgh, Case No. PF-C-18-27-W (Pa. LRB ALJ 2019)* Arbitration Panel Rules In Favor Of Pre-Statement Review Of Video, City of Newton, JLMC 17-6002 (McSpiritt, 2019)

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Will discusses body cameras with Mike Rains and Rocky Lucia of the law firm Rains Lucia Stern St. Phalle & Silver, PC. They look at the history of body camera use in California, body cameras and criminal prosecutions of police officers, privacy matters, and what issues regarding body cameras are typically negotiated between a department and labor union.

Studies cited in the podcast:

Journal of Experimental CriminologyTemple University Study

Will discusses body cameras with Mike Rains and Rocky Lucia of the law firm Rains Lucia Stern St. Phalle & Silver, PC. They look at the history of body camera use in California, body cameras and criminal prosecutions of police officers, privacy matters, and what issues regarding body cameras are typically negotiated between a department and labor union. Studies cited in the podcast: Journal of Experimental Criminology Temple University Study

This month, Will covers three recent news stories and four cases.

News articles:

Alaska State Troopers find fix for hiring woes: More pay https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/crime-courts/2019/11/07/pay-hikes-drive-surge-of-job-seekers-to-alaska-state-troopers/

Hennepin County Attorney’s Office on New Protocol: ‘No Privacy Rights in a Criminal Investigation’https://alphanewsmn.com/hennepin-county-attorneys-office-on-new-protocol-no-privacy-rights-in-a-criminal-investigation/

Nevada Highway Patrol Association becomes the third group of state employees to unionizehttps://www.rgj.com/story/news/politics/2019/10/18/nhp-troopers-join-push-unionize-under-new-law/4022638002/

Cases:

‘Witness’ Officer Entitled To Weingarten Representative, Bardelas v. City of Doral, 46 FPER ¶ 91 (Fla. PERC 2019).

Corrections Officers Win $113 Million In Wage-And-Hour Lawsuit, Hootselle v. Missouri Dept. of Corrections, 2019 WL 4935933 (Mo. App. 2019).(Referenced case: Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Busk, https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/13-433_5h26.pdf)

Favored Treatment To Fellow Officer Violates Ethics Statute, McGovern v. State Ethics Commission, 2019 WL 5078447 (Mass. App. 2019).

Termination For Theft ‘Shocks Conscience” Of Court, Matter of Arroyo v O’Neill, 2019 NY Slip Op 06568 (A.D. 2019).

Will discusses a recently released study from the Police Executive Research Forum study on the recruitment and retention crisis.

Staying on this topic, Will talks about an article from the Omaha World-Herald on the workforce shortages in public employment in the state of Nebraska.

Cases covered this month:

When Is Harassing Conduct ‘Severe’ Enough? Perry v. Slensby, 2019 WL 3409894 (S.D.N.Y. 2019)

Sergeant’s $1.9 Million Verdict Reduced To $2,700, Holt v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 2019 WL 3021798 (3rd Cir. 2019)

Sheriff’s Department Can Provide Brady List To Prosecutor, Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs v. Superior Court, 2019 WL 4009133 (Cal. 2019)

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The current presidential administration is undoubtedly conservative. This is reflected in the pro-management position its judicial appointments and the Department of Labor have taken on labor and employment issues. As a result, many municipalities, counties and states have passed laws and implemented rules more favorable to labor. Using the new Oregon family leave law as a starting point, Will and Jackson Lewis attorney April Upchurch Fredrickson discuss how employers navigate this alphabet soup of employment and labor laws and regulations. LISTEN

Update: The fallout from the Plain View Project. The Plain View Project is run by a Philadelphia attorney who seeks to reveal the identity of law enforcement officers in eight jurisdictions who post what the attorney deems as sexist, racist or other unsuitable messages on Facebook.

Cases:

Employer Must Provide Information Before, Not After, Loudermill Hearing, Town of Auburn, 2019 WL 3574289 (MA LRC ALJ 2019)

Personality Traits Not Protected By ADA, Donley v. Village of Yorkville, 2019 WL 3817054 (N.D.N.Y. 2019)

Trooper’s Garrity Rights Violated, State of Nebraska v. Kober, 2019 WL 3215942 (Neb. App. 2019)

In Some Parts Of The Country, Patronage Is Still Legal, Jones v. Lamkin, 2019 WL 3183635 (11th Cir. 2019)

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Will gives (yet another) warning about potential dangers posed

by social media for public safety employees. He gives several recent examples

of law enforcement, corrections and fire protection employees who have lost

their jobs over controversial social media posts.

Cases covered this month:

‘Exploding’ Offers Can Be Bad-Faith Bargaining, City of

Arcadia (2019) PERB Decision No. 2648-M (Cal. PERB 2019).

No Privacy Rights To Flash

Drive Plugged Into Employer’s Computer, Edwards v. State of Florida,

2019 WL 2607376 (Fla. App. 2019).

Not Against Public Policy To Reinstate Dishonest Corrections Officer, Monroe County Correctional Facility v. Teamsters Local 773, 2019 WL 2587689 (Penn. Cmwlth. 2019).

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Will gives another, very necessary, warning about posting on supposedly private social media forums. He also discusses these cases:



* Deputy Cannot Sue Prosecutor For Wrongful Placement On Brady List, Harris v. Chelan County Sheriff’s Department, 2019 WL 1923924 (E.D. Wa. 2019).* Seniority Prevails Over ADA For Day Off Selection, McIntyre v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, 2019 WL 2120324 (D.D.C. 2019).* The ADA And Light Duty Jobs, Garvey v. Sullivan, 2019 WL 2142530 (2nd Cir. 2019).* Destruction Of Disciplinary Records Violates Public Policy, City of Chicago v. Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 7, 2019 WL 2052887 (Ill. App. 2019).* Iowa Collective Bargaining Cuts Upheld By Court, AFSCME Iowa Council 61 v. State of Iowa, 2019 WL 2147339 (Iowa 2019).



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Will talks about the Plain View Project, an online database of Facebook posts and comments by current and former law enforcement officers that include racist, sexist, anti-Muslim and other controversial sentiments.



He also covers the following cases:



* Employer Cannot Refuse To Negotiate With Union’s Lawyer, FOP, Lodge 109 v. SEPTA, 50 PPER ¶ 7 (Penn. LRB 2019)* ‘Do Not Apply’ Alert Is Protected Union Speech, City of Santa Maria, 43 PERC ¶ 161 (Cal. PERB ALJ 2019)* Discipline Outside Of Statutory Time Frames Is ‘An Absolute Nullity,’ Pozzo v. Department of Police, 2019 WL 1473500 (La. App. 2019)



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