The Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) considered a case involving the Police Officers Association of Michigan and its affiliate, the Leelanau County Deputy Sheriff’s Association, and Leelanau County Sheriff’s Office. The dispute arose after the parties reached a tentative collective ba
Note: The following article concerns the resolution of a case that had previously been covered by LRIS, “City Council Had Authority To Fire Police Officer After High-Speed Chase,” published in the January 2025 issue of PSLN.Gregory Moliere, a police officer with the City of Buffalo Police Departme
Emanual Brandao was sworn in as a full-time police officer of the Boston Police Department in June 2017. In February 2019, he was placed on administrative leave pending investigation of allegations of misconduct, and on March 28, 2019, he was discharged for failing to properly secure his department
Patrick Vargas began working as a firefighter in 1994 for the Tracy Fire Department in California and rose to the rank of division chief by 2017. In 2018, the Department merged with the Tracy Rural Fire Department to form the South San Joaquin County (SSJC) Fire Authority, a joint powers authority.
On August 30, 2022, the City of Trenton’s former business administrator, Adam Cruz, sent an email to PBA Local 11A, Superior Officers Association (SOA) President Jason Woodhead. Cruz was responding to an email Woodhead sent from his non-work-related Gmail account to the mayor of Trenton, which Cruz
The Supreme Court of Washington ruled on a case involving Seattle police officers who attended the January 6, 2021, “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington, D.C. The officers sought to prevent the disclosure of their identities in response to public records requests, arguing that disclosure would vi
Green Brook, New Jersey police officer John Skikus had accrued 25 years of service but lacked the required 20 years of creditable service as of June 28, 2011, to qualify for free retiree healthcare benefits under N.J.S.A. 52:14-17.28d (Chapter 78). The Township of Green Brook initially paid Skikus’s
Prior to 2003, the City of Pittsburgh provided healthcare at no cost to its employees. On December 29, 2003, due to the City entering Act 47 protection as a financially distressed local government, a minimum employee contribution of 15% for healthcare was mandated, and the City became self-insured
The Supreme Court of Rhode Island addressed whether retired firefighters were entitled to occupational cancer disability benefits under a state law or a city ordinance. The plaintiffs, represented by the Providence Retired Police and Firefighter’s Association, sought a declaratory judgment requiri
The Policemen’s Benevolent Association Local 109 (PBA), filed an unfair practice charge against Hudson County, alleging that the County violated the New Jersey Employer-Employee Relations Act by unilaterally altering the regularly scheduled days off for 67 COs during negotiations for a new collect
Brenda Sasnett and Luther Gregory Cummings were married on January 16, 1985. Cummings began his employment as an Oklahoma firefighter in September 1985, making him eligible for retirement in 2005. They remained married until April 9, 2010. In the divorce decree, Sasnett was awarded 50% of the benefi
The Fraternal Order of Police Pennsylvania Lodge, the Springfield Township Police Benevolent Association, and individual police officers Christian Wilbur, Robert Baiada, and Chris Calhoun, challenged a policy enacted by Springfield Township that restricted Township employees from displaying a Thin B
Prior to 2019, the City of Great Falls, Montana had collectively bargained workplace drug and alcohol use and testing policies with all its employees. The existing policy prohibited employee use of alcohol or drugs on city premises or while performing city business, and it allowed for temporary i
The Louisiana State Troopers Association (LSTA) is a labor organization representing over 90% of commissioned and classified state police troopers and a majority of state police trooper retirees.The Louisiana State Police Commission was established by the Louisiana Constitution and vested with br
Mark Meister began employment in a Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) covered position on September 1, 1991, and retired February 1, 2020. On January 31, 2020, for the pay period of January 16 to 31, he received a lump-sum payment for accrued vacation and compensatory time totaling $21,945.0
Sean Fowler and Amber Heidel were corrections officers at the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections at SCI-Huntington. In October 2022, while in the lounge area, Fowler repeatedly questioned Heidel about her injured arm, which required surgery. He nagged her about wanting to touch it, despite her
Mitch Bratton, the chief of police for the Village of Grayson, called the Louisiana State Police to report suspicions that the town clerk was stealing from the town. Louisiana State Police detectives went to Grayson to speak to Bratton and ask him to provide records related to the narcotics fund, b
The Ansonia FOP Local 913 brought a case against the City of Ansonia seeking to vacate an arbitration award. The arbitration stemmed from a disciplinary action taken against Detective Jonathan Troesser, a member of the FOP and an employee of the Ansonia Police Department. Troesser had filed an ano
In 2022, the city council for Baker City, Oregon, voted to discontinue ambulance service through the fire department, opting instead to provide only fire suppression services. Casey Husk, a former firefighter employed by the Baker City Fire Department, disagreed with this decision. He pursued recal
In 2022, the Akron Beacon Journal submitted multiple public records requests to the City of Akron and the Akron Police Department, seeking information related to three separate lethal use-of-force incidents involving Akron police officers.The first incident occurred on December 23, 2021, when police
From Washington:Question: We are researching the potential for limiting overtime hours an officer can work between rest periods. Our concern centers on the wellness and safety of our officers who work significant amounts of overtime outside their normal shifts either through covering shift vacancies
The Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge No. 47, started gathering signatures for a representation election, and on February 7, 2024, the FOP notified the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office that 75% of their employees had voted “yes” for collective bargaining. The FOP also stated that it had met with Sheri
Reginald Brown was employed as a corporal and Interim Chief of Police for the Monroe Police Department (MPD) in Louisiana. On July 6, 2020, just before a contested mayoral election, officers informed Brown of an incident involving alleged excessive force. Brown notified the city attorney, placed the
Aimee Bodge and several other state troopers filed a lawsuit alleging that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts had a policy of denying the accrual of benefits, specifically seniority, length-of-service credit, vacation time, and sick time, while an employee was on Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PF