In 2020, the New York State Legislature repealed Civil Rights Law § 50-a, which, since 1976, had provided absolute protection for police officers’, corrections officers’, and certain peace officers’ personnel records used to evaluate job performance. The same legislative package added amendments to
Matthew Nathe, a correctional officer employed by Orange County in New York and an elected delegate of the Orange County Corrections Officers’ Benevolent Association (OCCOBA), circulated a petition seeking a special union meeting to reconsider the union’s bargaining demands. At the time, the OCCOBA
Kady-Ann Cox, an African-American police officer employed by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), filed suit after SEPTA Police Chief Thomas Nestel terminated her employment in 2019. Cox alleged that the termination was motivated by race discrimination and asserted claim
Steven Matthew Lassiter was a deputy with the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina. The Sheriff’s Office had a policy allowing deputies to seek approval for off-duty employment. In 2017, Truesdell Corporation was awarded a state contract for bridge repair work on I-95. The contract req
The Estate of Donovan Lewis brought a federal civil rights action against the City of Columbus, Ohio, and the Columbus police chief, alleging that Lewis’s fatal shooting by a police officer resulted from an official policy or custom of racially discriminatory policing and excessive force. The compla
On November 4, 2024, the City of Pleasantville, New Jersey, passed Resolution 177, updating its vehicle use policy to prohibit personal use and commuting with police vehicles except for essential Department heads. Eight days later, on November 12, Police Chief Stacy Schlachter issued a memorandum in
In October 2023, the Onondaga County Sheriff’s administration in New York proposed changing the work schedule for deputy sheriffs in the Custody Department from an eight-hour day, four-days-on, two-days-off schedule to a ten-hour day, 4-3-4-4 schedule. Chief John Drapikowski conveyed the proposal
Officer Farouqah Idris, a correctional officer employed by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, served as vice president of her local union and AFSCME’s designated co-chair of the Labor-Management Committee (LMC) at Maryland Correctional Institution–Jessup. Under th
Matthew Keil, a deputy sheriff in Chesapeake, Virginia, was demoted following an internal affairs investigation into a jailhouse incident involving inmates and subordinate deputies he supervised. After his demotion, Keil requested access to records related to the investigation, including interviews
On March 21, 2024, Deputy “RG” emailed the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon payroll office and the Multnomah County Corrections Deputy Association president, requesting to withdraw his union membership and cancel his dues deductions. Two other deputies followed suit around the same time
William Shelton was a police officer employed by the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) in Ohio. Outside of his police duties, Shelton also performed as a rap artist and maintained several public social-media accounts. Although supervisors were aware that Shelton made music, his public Y
The Ohio Township Police Association in Pennsylvania filed a grievance after Ohio Township refused to place a police officer (Officer) on administrative duty under Pennsylvania’s Act 59, which governs the treatment of law enforcement officers experiencing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder
Norman Seabrook served for many years as president of the New York City Correction Officers Benevolent Association (COBA). In that role, Seabrook exercised control over millions of dollars in union funds and occupied a position of trust with respect to COBA’s membership. While serving in that role
On Veterans Day 2021, Lieutenant Lauren Mirizio who was on leave under New York’s General Municipal Law 207-c for an on-duty injury, discovered that she was being followed and photographed by a private investigator working on behalf of the City of Yonkers.The Yonkers Police Captains, Lieutenants, a
To address a chronic inability to meet minimum staffing needs at its correctional facility, Hudson County, New Jersey, unilaterally amended its mandatory overtime policy on June 13, 2024. The new provision stipulated that an officer refusing mandatory overtime citing sickness must comply with specif
The Rochester Fire Fighters Association, Local 1071, in New York filed an improper practice charge alleging that the City of Rochester violated § 209-a.1(d) of the Public Employees’ Fair Employment Act by refusing to bargain over the impact of the City’s issuance of incorrect W-2 forms to bargainin
Current and former battalion chiefs in the Alexandria Fire Department in Virginia sued the City of Alexandria seeking unpaid overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The chiefs argued that they were entitled to time-and-a-half pay for “off-schedule” hours they worked beyond their normal shifts.
On March 11, 2020, Muriel Bowser, mayor of Washington, D.C., declared a public health emergency. On August 10, 2021, she issued Mayor’s Order 2021-099, requiring District employees to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination. The D.C. Police Union and the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Depar
A New Jersey corrections officer’s claims that he was unlawfully disciplined for social media posts criticizing his employer’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives and that his procedural rights were violated during an internal interview were dismissed by the New Jersey PERC’s Director of
David Maiella, a police officer employed by the City of New Castle, Pennsylvania, from 2009 until June 2021, sought a disability retirement benefit under the City’s police pension plan after suffering a back injury in May 2019. Following the injury, Maiella was placed on leave and received benefits
A Michigan State Police Trooper was intoxicated at a Michigan State Police Troopers Association (MSPTA) event and engaged in serious misconduct. Surveillance video showed the trooper placing her fingers into the “anal crevice” of a male coworker, striking another coworker in the genitals, and attem
In 2018, Robert Goldsmith ran for sheriff of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, and had several deputies support his candidacy. Lieutenant Randall Martin did not support Goldsmith. Instead, Martin reported colleagues for unlawfully campaigning for Goldsmith while in uniform, maintaining that their conduc
Firefighters David Barron and Michael Lynch, filing on behalf of a class, alleged that the City of Chicago improperly manipulated promotional procedures for lieutenant positions. For decades, the City’s practice involved creating an eligibility list from examination scores and promoting candidates
In April 2021, Roxboro Police Officer SeanPatrick Leech responded to a report of an unknown boxcutter found in the bedroom of a rape victim. After confirming with the original investigating officer and his sergeant that the item was not involved in the crime, Leech disposed of it. When the District