OFFENSE

EMPLOYER’S PENALTY

RESULT ON APPEAL

DESCRIPTION

CASE NAME

Insubordination

1-Day Suspension

Written Warning

Firefighter refused to answer supervisor’s questions as to where he was when using FMLA leave. Arbitrator concluded suspension too harsh, as firefighter believed that revealing his location would have disclosed the nature of his wife’s medical condition.

City of Providence, Rhode Island, LAIG 6499 (Altman, 2007).

Substance Abuse

Termination

5-Day Suspension

Police dispatcher used marijuana on an occasional basis. Dispatcher subsequently entered and successfully completed a pre-trial drug education program sponsored by a department of mental health. Arbitration panel held that “the gravity of the dispatcher’s offense, when balanced against his flawless work record, did not support termination.”

Town of Enfield v. AFSCME, Council 4, Local 1029, 918 A.2d 934 (Conn.App. 2007).

Untruthfulness

Indefinite Suspension

Reinstatement With Back Pay

Twenty-year detective indefinitely suspended for untruthfulness regarding an off-duty incident involving an argument with a security guard. Videotapes that captured the incident supported detective’s version of events.

City of Pearland, Texas, LAIG 6493 (Campos, 2007).