Philadelphia Police Department Officer Andre Coles was terminated in May 2021, which the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 5 (Lodge 5) grieved, arguing the termination lacked just cause. Lodge 5 and the City entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) in March 2023, requiring the City to pay backpay and other financial damages within 90 days of receiving all required documentation from Coles. On April 24, 2024, Arbitrator Robert Gifford issued an award reducing Coles’ termination to a five-day suspension without pay and ordering his reinstatement “within a reasonable period of time,” along with full backpay and expungement of disciplinary records.
Lodge 5 provided the City with Coles’ contact information two days after the award was issued, but the City did not contact him to schedule an in-person appointment for document submission until October 2024, three months after his reinstatement on July 8, 2024. During this period, Coles repeatedly attempted to contact the City’s finance department to submit his offset documents, but his emails and calls were ignored until October 1, 2024, when he was finally given an appointment. The City further delayed processing his backpay, claiming his documents were illegible, despite testimony from Coles and Lodge 5 Vice President John McGrody that the documents were clear. As of the November 14, 2024, hearing, Coles had not received any backpay.
The Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board hearing examiner found the City’s three-month delay in scheduling Coles’ appointment and its failure to process his backpay within the MOA’s 90-day window constituted an unfair labor practice under Section 6(1)(a) and (e) of the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Act, as read with Act 111.
The hearing examiner cited McGrody’s testimony that the City consistently failed to timely comply with the terms of the MOA, which required timely processing of awards. The examiner rejected the City’s argument that Coles’ document submission was inadequate, noting the City’s own witnesses testified that the documents were legible. The examiner also highlighted that the City’s delay in reinstating Coles – 77 days after the award – was unreasonable, as the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board has previously held that 30 days is a reasonable timeframe for reinstatement absent extenuating circumstances. The examiner concluded that the City’s “deliberate neglect” of Coles’ attempts to contact them and its “deliberate delay” in scheduling his appointment unlawfully extended the 90-day grace period under the MOA.
The hearing examiner ordered the City to cease and desist from interfering with employees’ rights, to immediately pay Coles all backpay with 6% interest from September 9, 2024 (the 91st day after the MOA’s deadline), and to post notice of the decision.
City of Philadelphia, 56 PPER ¶ 52 (Proposed Decision and Order, 2025).