Medford Fire Chief Unlawfully Reprimanded Fire Fighters, Top Mass Labor Agency Rules

Attorney Jillian Ryan successfully affirmed a Department of Labor Relations ruling that the Medford Fire Chief unlawfully retaliated and intimidated IAFF Local 1032. This case arose because the Fire Chief was perturbed that the Union President went over his head to complain about the Chief's policies to City Hall.

Here, the President was upset with the Fire Chief's refusal to allow another fire fighter to return from sick leave without first having his doctor complete an extensive questionnaire. Identifying a possible grievance, the President went to City Hall to meet with a mayoral appointee and and discuss a possible resolution.

The Chief responded to this meeting by reprimanding the Union President, as well as the affected member. The Commonwealth Employment Relations Board (CERB) affirmed that the President engaged in lawful, protected activity by trying to informally resolve a potential dispute regarding a work place policy with a City official.

The City defended the Chief's sour grapes by claiming that the Chief had the right to discipline fire fighters for skipping steps in the grievance procedure. CERB had little difficulty rejecting this argument. Because CERB found that informal settlement discussions were protected by state law, the reprimand could survive only if the Chief could show that the President's behavior was significantly disruptive or disloyal. A polite settlement discussion in City Hall obviously did not met this exception.

CERB also ruled that the City failed to show it would have reprimanded the two fire fighters even if they had not engaged in activity protected by the law. CERB ordered the City to post a notice acknowledging its violations of the law and distribute the notice to employees.