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Florida Firefighter Files Wrongful Termination Suit For Union Comments
A Florida firefighter has filed a wrongful termination suit claiming he was illegally fired last March in retaliation for his support for a union. John Carter was fired from the Freeport Fire Department on March 17, 2011 allegedly because he committed sexually harassment. Carter’s lawsuit refers to the sexual harassment allegation as “contrived”, and claims it was a pretext for retaliation against him for his efforts to bring certain misconduct to light, and as a response to his discussions on organizing a union. Carter also claims that Fire Chief Ben Greenslait secretly recorded firefighters discussing union activities, and was opposed…
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Firefighters in Hawaii and Massachusetts Plead Not-Guilty
Two firefighters from opposite ends of the country pled not guilty to serious criminal charges this week. In Hawaii, a Maui County firefighter was arraigned on Tuesday on drug charges related to the search of his fire station that uncovered crystal methamphetamine. Juanito Dudoit, 48, a 21 year veteran firefighter, was indicted on drug charges last month. He appeared in 2nd Circuit Court on Tuesday and pled not guilty. Dudoit resigned following a search at the Kahului Fire Station on July 16, 2011 where the drugs were uncovered. More on the story. In Mashpee, a firefighter was placed on paid…
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Dislodged Hose Dragged By Engine Strikes Massachusetts Man: The Need For Hose Restraints
A Revere, Massachusetts man was injured last Friday when he was struck by hose that had dislodged and was being dragged by a passing engine company. The video below shows the man being struck. While not a legal issue per se (yet anyway) – much of the law is directed at redressing accidents and injuries. There are so many parallels between the law of negligence and safety that we need to discuss this case to hopefully get the word out. The Revere case sounds eerily familiar to the case that occurred in Cambridge, Massachusetts on January 26, 2010 when Gertrude King,…
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LAFD Porn Video Investigation Over: No Charges
The Los Angeles City Fire Department has completed its investigation into the use of a LAFD engine company in a porn video, and the result is that no members will be disciplined. According to Fire Chief Brian Cummings, a city charter provision imposes a two year statute of limitations on disciplinary actions against city employees. Apparently the video is roughly three years old. View more videos at: http://nbclosangeles.com. Unmentioned in the news clip, California has a firefighter’s bill of right law that specifies a number of procedural protections for accused firefighters. That law establishes a one year statute of…
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Four NY Volunteer FDs Settle LOSAP Discrimination Suit
Four more New York volunteer fire departments have settled age discrimination claims with the EEOC over their LOSAP programs. That makes at least 10 separate age discrimination lawsuits filed by the EEOC against New York volunteer fire departments since 2006. The four departments are the East Amherst Fire Protection District and Fire Department, the Clarence Center Fire Protection District and Volunteer Fire Company; Harris Hill Fire Protection District and Volunteer Fire Company; and Swormville Fire Protection District and Volunteer Fire Company. The four departments, their respective fire districts, and the town of Clarence agreed to pay $441,000 to eligible retired…
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Chief Officer Convictions in the News
Two high ranking fire officers in two different states have been convicted in the past week. In Montana, former Central Valley Fire District fire chief Brett Waters pled guilty to one count of “official misconduct” for using fire department equipment and on-duty personnel to perform work on his house. He was sentenced to ten days in jail, but has been allowed into a work-release program. In Miami, Assistant Chief Veldora Arthur was convicted of three counts of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud in a multi-million-dollar mortgage scheme that involved using straw buyers to submit false mortgage-applications to lenders. Arthur…
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Retirement Buyout Leads to Indiana Suit
Today’s burning question: My fire department offered me a $26,000 buyout to retire. If I take it, does the $26,000 include accrued vacation time, or can I still get paid for the time I have on the books? That question is that the heart of a lawsuit filed by seven firefighters in Logansport, Indiana. Steve Crispen, William Hassett, Randy Landis, Kim Costello, Rex Danely, David Huff, and James McMinn filed suit on July 28, 2011, claiming “Under Indiana law, an agreement to give vacation pay to employees made before they perform their services, and based upon length of service and…
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Tax Status of Disability Pension Sparks Class Action Suit in Knoxville
A retired Knoxville Fire Department captain has filed a class action lawsuit alleging that his disability pension had been wrongfully designated as taxable income. Derrell Frye filed suit on behalf of all similarly situated Knoxville firefighters and police officers whose line-of-duty disability pension payments have been taxed. The Knoxville News Sentinel estimates the number at between 350 and 500 plaintiffs, although the attorney for the pension board, Bud Gilbert, says less than 100 people are effected. Named as defendants in the action are the city of Knoxville, the Knoxville Pension Board and the City Employees’ Pension Fund. The suit claims…
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Kentucky Court Denies TRO to Keep Fire Company Open
Another court has refused to block a fire company closing that a community claims is necessary in order to address its financial difficulties. On Tuesday, Kenton Circuit Court Judge Gregory Bartlett refused to grant a temporary restraining order against the city of Covington, Kentucky. The suit was brought by Covington Professional Firefighters, IAFF Local 38 on Monday when the city implemented a brown-out of Pumper 1, and a staffing reduction of 3 firefighters per shift, from 30 per shift to 27. Fire Chief Chuck Norris told the press that he chose Pumper One, which is housed with a ladder, rescue…
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More Litigation in Johnson City, NY
The president of the Johnson City Firefighter’s Local 921 has filed suit against the village over his demotion last May. Marty Meaney was demoted from captain to firefighter allegedly because he made false statements to a police detective. The detective was investigating complaints about someone tampering with Meaney’s PPE. Fire Chief Stephen Hrustich reported that Meaney told him in March 2010 that his breathing equipment had been tampered with, but Meaney denied it when questioned by the detective. Meany claims he answered the detectives questions honestly, and should not have been demoted. Perhaps the bigger story is the volume of litigation coming…
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US Supreme Court Accepts Fire Service Case on…. Lawyer’s Liability
Another fire service case is headed to the US Supreme Court, this one involving a California attorney hired to investigate sick leave in the Rialto Fire Department. Firefighter Nicholas B. Delia was off-injured and department administrators were suspicious given the circumstances and his disciplinary history. He was placed under surveillance and filmed purchasing building supplies including rolls of fiberglass insulation. As part of an investigation Delia was called to appear for an interview conducted by attorney Steve Filarsky. Filarsky was not a public employee but rather had been hired by the city as a contractor. That subtle point is the…
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News Video from Toledo: Fire Inspector Accused of Shooting
A civilian fire inspector whose father was the fire chief in Toledo until a few months ago, has been arrested and charged with firing into a occupied fire station Saturday night. Kevin Wolever was arrested in the vicinity of the shooting carrying a 9 mm handgun and 2 clips of ammunition. He was under suspicion of being involved in a series of prior fire station shootings the past week. Of even more concern, he was wearing a ballistic vest and had a handcuff key in his mouth when apprehended.
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