As of December 16, 2005, all 24 officers who were suspended for their involvement in a police video alleged to have sexist and racist content have been allowed to return to work. However, Police Chief Heather Fong stated that an investigation was continuing and the officers could still face discipline.
DOL Publishes Final Regulations Implementing USERRA
On December 19, 2005 the Department of Labor published final regulations implementing the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act in the Federal Register. The Regulations are effective thirty (30) days from publication on January 18, 2006. The Regulations include a preamble by the DOL that may provide a roadmap to the DOL's likely enforcement positions. The Regulations and the DOL preamble can be found in a 268 page PDF at http://www.dol.gov/vets/regs/fedreg/final/USERRA_Final_Rule.pdf.
AFL-CIO Take Position on Alito
In a letter to the Senate, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney urged opposition to U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Samuel Alito. In his letter, Sweeney said a review of Judge Alito's record as a member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit shows his "judicial philosophy is at odds with America's working families." An AFL-CIO review of Alito's record includes dissents and decisions by Alito in cases involving the FLSA, OSHA, and the FMLA, among other laws relating to workers.
New Orleans Officers Face More Questions Regarding Conduct
The embattled New Orleans Police Department faces more questions regarding its officers' conduct in the face of a police shooting which took place on December 26, 2005. Police officers shot and killed a man brandishing a knife in a daylight confrontation that was partially videotaped by a bystander, setting off an internal investigation. This incident was the first involving police since New Orleans reopened after Hurricane Katrina and it follows the videotaped police beating of a man that led to two firings in the Department.
Transit Union Approves Contract
A tentative new contract was approved by the executive board for New York City transit union workers, five days after it ended a bus and subway strike that crippled that city and stranded millions of commuters. The tentative agreement gives workers a 10.9 percent pay raise over three years and requires them to contribute to their health care plans, a term the union had strongly resisted. The contract must still be ratified by the 33,700 members of the Transport Workers Union.
Approval of FMLA Leave May Not Protect Against Termination
Although the FMLA prohibits employers from terminating employees because they are on FMLA leave, requesting or taking FMLA leave does not provide an employee with absolute protection or immunity from termination or layoff. An employer may continue to discipline layoff and terminate an employee – even while the employee is on FMLA leave – as long as the employer does so for reasons unrelated to the FMLA illness. Courts have held that termination of employees on FMLA leave is appropriate for violation of employer rules, poor performance, or because of reduction in force.
| Legal Briefs |
|
Legal Briefs is sponsored
by the Grand Lodge Fraternal Order of Police. Founded in 1915, the
Fraternal Order of Police is the world's largest organization of sworn
law enforcement officers, with more than 321,000 members in more than
2,100 lodges.
|
| Stories |
|
|
Personnel Files
The overwhelming majority of employers maintain personnel files on their employees and police officers are no exception. The question is; what rules govern these files and what, if any, is the importance of the information contained in them? The most obvious concern regarding the information contained in a personnel file is what impact it may have when an individual decides to change jobs. In many instances a potential employer will require an applicant to sign a waiver allowing contact with a former employee and this waiver may include a review of a personnel file. |
|
|
Latest News
San Francisco Reinstates Suspended Officers, DOL Publishes Final Regulations Implementing USERRA, AFL-CIO Takes Position on Alito, New Orleans Officers Face More Questions Regarding Conduct, Transit Union Approves Contract, Approval of FMLA Leave May Not Protect Against Termination |
|
|
United States Supreme Court Issues Ruling on Compensable Time
In an opinion issued on November 8, 2005 in IBF Inc. v. Alvarez, the United States Supreme Court resolved a conflict between two Circuit Courts on the issue of what constitutes "compensable time" under the Fair Labor Standards Act. |
|
|
Governor Blagojevich Signs New Gay Rights Law
With this amendment, the Illinois Human Rights Act now declares that it is the public policy of Illinois "to secure for all individuals within Illinois the freedom from discrimination against any individual because of his or her race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, physical or mental handicap, military status, sexual orientation, or unfavorable discharge from military service in connection with employment, real estate transactions, access to financial credit, and the availability of public accommodations." |
|
|
Comp Time On Demand?
Do we now have the long awaited answer to the question of whether police officers can take compensatory time off on demand? |
|
|
HIPAA Rules Apply to FSA's
Did you know that the Department of Health and Human Services considers your Health Flexible Spending Arrangement (FSA) covered by the HIPAA privacy rules? |
|
New
Orleans Fires AWOL Officers
After weeks of rumors of police officers having abandoned their posts before, during and after Hurricane Katrina, the City of New Orleans has fired over fifty police officers and six civilian employees for allegedly having done so. |
|
|
Can Employees Have a "Privileged" Conversation with their Union
Representatives?
The State of Illinois has recently passed legislation purporting to make communications between union agents and the members they represent "privileged." |
|
|
Alaska Supreme Court Holds Spousal Limitations Violate
That State's Constitution
The Supreme Court of Alaska ruled that it violated the state constitution to withhold benefits to public employees' same-sex partners. |
|
|
Can State Funds be Used in Union
Organizing Campaigns?
Among the hotter controversies in labor is whether a private employer may spend public money to fight its employees' efforts at unionizing. |
|
|
Sex Discrimination Found Even Without Sexual Conduct
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that three female employees of a teachers union could recover under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for sex-based discrimination even though there was no evidence of lust or sexual animus toward the women. |