A previous version of this podcast included the wrong recording.

Will discusses Minnesota’s sweeping new police reform billp just passed last night.

• Sections 1 & 3, Peer Counseling (00:01:20)
• Section 2, Critical Incident Stress Management Data (00:05:11)
• Section 4, Critical Incident Stress Management Team Members (00:05:25)
• Section 5, Independent Use of Force Investigations Unit (00:07:25)
• Section 6, Residency (00:07:58)
• Sections 7, 8 & 9 Use of Force (00:08:20)
• Section 10, Board of Police Officers Standards and Training (00:09:35)
• Section 11, POST Licensure (00:09:53)
• Section 12, Warrior Style Training (00:10:22)
• Section 13, Ensuring Police Excellence and Improving Community Relations Advisory Council (00:12:05)
• Section 14, Police Officer Data (00:13:17)
• Section 15, Statewide Use of Force Standards (00:13:36)
• Section 16, Record-Keeping (00:17:34)
• Section 17, Licensing Sanctions (00:17:41)
• Section 18, Reporting Requirements (00:17:53)
• Section 19, Training in Crisis Response, Conflict Management, and Cultural Diversity (00:19:17)
• Section 20, Autism Training (00:23:15)
• Section 21, Duty to Intervene (00:23:38)
• Section 22, Arbitration (00:24:30)
• Sections 23-27, Funding (00:28:56)

Download our summary of the bill.

Covered in this month’s podcast:

• Labor and employment issues coming out of the pandemic (00:00:43)
• The police reform movement (00:03:56)
• Brady Does Not Allow Employer To Fire Officer Without Providing Reasons, Borough of Gettysburg v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 776, 2020 WL 3022985 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2020) (00:15:01)
• Contract’s Wage Provisions Not Constitutionally Protected, Sullivan v. Nassau County Interim Finance Authority, 959 F.3d 54 (2nd Cir. 2020) (00:28:44)
• The issue of severance (00:36:54)
  • Sergeants Not Severed From Rank-And-File Union, Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office, 46 NJPER ¶ 107 (N.J. PERC Rep. Dir. 2020)
  • Labor Board Refuses To Sever Detectives From Sworn Unit, St. Petersburg Police Officers’ Association, 46 FPER ¶ 291 (Fla. PERC 2020)

The Senate Republican bill on police reform has been released and Will covers the big takeaways.

Download our table comparing President’s Trump’s executive order, the senate Democrat’s bill, the senate Republican’s bill and proposed legislation out of the state of Colorado.

Will covers police reform legislation proposed by U.S. Senate Democrats and the state of Colorado as well as President Trump’s executive order on police reform.

President Trump’s Executive Order

U.S. Senate Democrat’s Bill

Colorado Senate Bill 20-217

Police Reform Legislation Table

• Introduction (00:05:43)
• The Rules
  1. Your First Amendment rights are very limited. (00:07:04)
  2. Just because something is an Internet meme doesn’t mean you can post it. (00:08:40)
  3. Nothing you post online is truly private. Check your privacy settings. But remember nothing you post is truly private. (00:09:41)
  4. Before posting, ask yourself: if my employer receives a complaint about what I’m going to post, how will it react? If the answer is “not so well” or “they’ll start a disciplinary investigation,” is the post really worth it? (00:10:18)
  5. Be positive with your posts, not negative and critical. (00:10:48)
  6. If you have the slightest doubt about whether to post something, sleep on it. Ask a fellow officer, one you think of as responsible and serious, what he/she thinks. (00:11:27)
  7. Think: Who are your “friend.” (00:12:35)
  8. Ask yourself – can someone figure out that I’m a police officer from my social media profile or my prior posts? (00:13:20)
  9. Your credibility can be called into question by what you’ve posted online. (00:14:14)
  10. Think about your job, your family, and your safety. (00:14:52)

Download the audio file (without introduction)

Cases covered:

• ADA Does Not Require Light Duty For Oft-Injured Officer, Scott v. City of Detroit, 2020 WL 2505385 (Mich. App. 2020)
• A Small Dent In The ‘Firefighter’s Rule’, Ipsen v. Diamond Tree Experts, 2020 WL 2568536 (Utah 2020)
• One-Year Membership Period Does Not Violate Janus, Molina v. Pennsylvania Social Service Union, 2020 WL 2306650 (M.D. Pa. 2020)
• Employer Required To Bargain When State Passes Paid Family And Medical Leave Law, Whatcom County Deputy Sheriff’s Guild, 2020 WL 2615650 (Wash.Pub.Emp.Rel.Com. 2020)

Don’t miss our special First Thursday bonus podcast: The Challenges Facing Police Unions In Today’s Environment.

In this special bonus podcast, Will discusses the recent controversies in policing, how they affect public safety unions and what unions can do to fight the trend.

• Headlines (00:00:42)
• Ten things police unions should be thinking about doing (00:05:16)
  1. Engage at all levels (00:08:21)
  2. Listen (00:10:38)
  3. Get your message out (00:12:15)
  4. Be proactive (00:20:18)
  5. React professionally (00:23:21)
  6. Meet with local politicians (00:28:43)
  7. Build relationships with other unions (00:29:41)
  8. Establish a community presence (0032:06)
  9. Stop being aligned with one political party (00:37:04)
  10. Create and expand upon your online presence (00:39:45)

Articles mentioned in the podcast:

• AFT and NEA Join Push for National Overhaul of Police Practices
• It’s Time To Bust Police Unions
• If you want police reform, you have to rein in police unions
• It’s Past Time to Examine How Police Unions Protect Bad Cops
• Movement to defund police gains ‘unprecedented’ support across US

Topics covered:

1. Status of COVID-19 presumptive causation laws (00:01:39)
2. Hazardous duty pay (00:30:28)
3. The impact on the collective bargaining process (00:34:13)
4. Enforcement of governors’ emergency orders (00:38:27)

• Presumptive Causation Status
• Jacobson v. Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11 (1905)

Impact of COVID-19

• Presumptive Causation
• Hazardous Duty Pay
• FFCRA Paid Leave
• Budget Issues
• Are officers at risk when arresting citizens not in compliance with a state’s lockdown orders?
• Are state lockdown orders constitutional?
  • Gibbons v. Ogden
  • Jacobson v. Massachusetts
• No beard policies and face masks
  https://www.14news.com/2020/04/28/bearded-md-police-officers-paid-leave-due-cdc-guidelines/

Different Job Standards Possible For Older And Younger Officers, Melo v. City of Somerville, 2020 WL 1429578 (1st Cir. 2020).

Massive Boston PD Medical Fitness-For-Duty Case Allowed To Proceed, Lacroix v. Boston Police Department, 2020 WL 1877806 (D. Mass. 2020).

Are you interested in the Fair Labor Standards Act or FLSA, as it is commonly known? Do you ponder over the Garicia decision? Daydream about Department of Labor regulations? Does thinking about what needs to be included in the regular rate of pay make you feel tingly all over? Then boy, do we have the podcast for you.

Will and attorney Lisa Charbonneau from the firm Liebert Cassidy Whitmore discuss the ins and outs of the FLSA from both the labor and management perspectives.