From Arizona
Question: A member had a discussion with another member on a recorded line (dispatch). In this discussion some inappropriate language was used, expressing frustration over another dispatcher. The tapes were later pulled and the member who made the comments is under investigation for the inappropriate conduct. My question is, since the conversation involved no third party, does the Department have the right to punish the member who made the call? I do not believe that this is a harassment issue. Our Department has a policy against profanity, and if that is all the investigation reveals, we are not overly concerned. However, if they try to punish the member under a different policy, is the member protected by the First Amendment?
Answer: Though there might be some state-by-state differences in this area, we’d be pretty surprised to find any protection for the conversation with the dispatchers. The general rule of thumb is that conversations using an employer’s communication system are not privileged, whether those conversations are over the phone or e-mail.
From Iowa
Question: We just started negotiations and one of the City’s proposals is to change a non-mandatory topic of bargaining (funeral leave). We did not propose any changes to the existing agreement. Can we refuse to talk about it and if we do, will it have to stay the same?
Answer: Iowa’s collective bargaining laws are a bit different from those in other states. Elsewhere, the usual rule is that “wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment” would be mandatory for collective bargaining. Within that rubric, funeral leave would almost certainly be a mandatory subject of bargaining.
As you undoubtedly know, Iowa goes at the issue differently. Iowa’s collective bargaining law has a list of the specific issues that are mandatory for collective bargaining, and anything not on the list is not mandatorily negotiable.
The general rule is that if a topic is not mandatory for bargaining, an employer is free to make whatever changes it wants in the practices in the area. There are some states that follow a different approach to non-mandatory subjects that have made their way into a collective bargaining agreement (New York, for example), so you should make sure you check with a local lawyer to verify how Iowa deals with the situation.
From Montana
Question: We have a female officer who recently learned that she is pregnant. Our department temporarily reassigned her to an office position for the duration of the pregnancy. She is allowed to wear dress attire and not a uniform and she handles phone reports and walk-in reports. Most officers in the department are in complete agreement with this and feel, as she does, that it is a benefit to any future pregnant officers that the department have this consideration. There are officers who feel that because she is a woman she should not get any extra consideration until the maternity leave guidelines come into play. What sources can I cite in making the argument that she should not be on the street at risk?
Answer: Many police departments have policies like the one you describe. Such policies are voluntary, and are not mandated by federal law. The most applicable law on the issue, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, only requires accommodation of a woman’s pregnancy during the period of “disability” associated with a pregnancy. It’s possible that Montana has some statutes that pertain to this issue; we’d recommend you check with a local lawyer on this issue.
From Alabama
Question: My issue is concerning overtime pay. I realize that the City does not have to pay overtime when an employee takes vacation, sick or holiday leave until they reach 40 hours of actual time worked. Example: The officer works 10 hours on Tuesday and then takes 8 hours of vacation on Saturday. My question is about using comp time. Example: An officer works 12 hours on Monday and then takes off 8 hours on Friday using his banked comp time. Does this not constitute time worked? Would the City not be required to pay the overtime when using comp time, not holiday, etc.?
Answer: Unless the employee is actually working, the time does not count towards the FLSA’s overtime thresholds. If an employee is off work using comp time, the time would not count as work under the FLSA.