This month’s cases: Firefighters, Facial Hair, The ‘Empty Vessel’ Of Light Duty, And The ‘Driving Calculus of Bureaucracy,’ Bey v. City of New York, 2020 WL 467507 (E.D.N.Y. 2020). Promise Of No Discipline? No Weingarten Rights, Fraternal Order of Transit Police, 51 PPER ¶ 51 (Penn. LRB ALJ 2020) Another Officer Loses A Brady Lawsuit […]

Developments with the Plain View Project First Lawsuit Against Plain View Project Is Dismissed, Pace v. Baker-White, 2020 WL 134316 (E.D. Pa. 2020) Firefighter Fired For Refusing Vaccination, Accommodation, Horvath v. City of Leander, 2020 WL 104345 (5th Cir. 2020). County Required To Arbitrate ‘Me-Too’ Grievance, County of Rockland, 2019 WL 6720466 (N.Y.A.D. 2019). Romantic […]

Will Aitchison discusses the fallout from a photo of Detroit firefighters posing in front of a burned house and the dangers of social media posting for public safety employees. ‘No-Contact’ Order Ruled Illegal, Oakdale Police Officers Association v. City of Oakdale, 44 PERC ¶ 99 (Cal. PERB ALJ 2019) The NLRB Approves Greater Confidentiality in […]

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. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Will interviews Tenari Ma’afala and Vladimir Devens of the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers (SHOPO) about the state’s unusual collective bargaining law, how they fixed their recruitment and retention problem, arbitration stories, and the standard of conduct differential. LISTEN

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 […]

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 […]