From Washington
Question: I am a firefighter/paramedic. We, as medics, have been increasing our training workload and have an MOU with management and our Local that certain training programs are to be taken on-shift. The Department has been paying overtime medics to fill our in-service medic units to relieve us to go to class for approximately two to three years now. The Department offers a certain amount of classes each year and they are required for our certification. If you can’t make one of the off-duty classes, you have to pay for your own backfill to attend on duty. These classes are with medics from other departments who take up our spots. Now the administration states they will not pay for the backfill and would have the in-service medics pay our own backfill with our comp time or take the class off-shift. If we can’t get into a local class, we pay for the class out of our own pocket. I believe this is (1) a past practice; (2) changes in working conditions; and (3) wages.
Answer: In most states, a change in past practice with respect to payments for backfilling would be viewed as a mandatory subject of bargaining, touching both on compensation and hours of work.
From Nevada
Question: Is a “Domestic Partnership” covered under the FMLA? What would qualify someone as a domestic partner?
Answer: Domestic partnerships are not covered by the FMLA. Increasingly, state and local family leave laws and rules do cover domestic partnerships, though the coverage varies not only from state-to-state, but also within a state. Where domestic partner coverage exists, the local rules define what it takes to achieve “domestic partner” status. Usually, those rules require a committed relationship and some sort of attestation by the employee (affidavit, for example).
From Florida
Question: Can a probationary lieutenant in the fire department be demoted with one shift remaining prior to completing his probation without progressive disciplinary actions? This lieutenant had ridden out of class as an acting lieutenant for seven years prior, without any write ups.
Only one evaluation was given, with an excellent conclusion. No other evaluations were given until the day of demotion. The contract requires three evaluations every three months, probation is nine months long. What course of action should be taken?
Answer: Unless there’s something in your local practice or collective bargaining agreement to the contrary, an employer need not follow progressive discipline prior to terminating an employee’s probation. The probationary period is usually viewed as an extension of the hiring/promotion process, with the employee’s status being akin to that of an at-will employee.
From Maryland
Question: Our police department is strictly defining the term “call back” to mean they have to physically call you on the radio or phone at home or some other place for it to be considered “call back”. We recently had an officer stop by a precinct on his own time and was ordered by a commander to perform work and fill out police forms. They say this doesn’t fit the definition of callback. We argue that when he was ordered to perform work he was “called back” and is entitled to receive the pay. Any cases that define this that may help in this situation?
Answer: We know of no cases directly on point, though it strikes us that unless the officer’s work was contiguous with his shift, what you’ve described would likely be considered a callback by an arbitrator.