Recent Developments

The Fall River Fire Chief unlawfully cut staffing, reduced fire fighters available to respond to a scene, and saddled fire fighters with additional duties because he failed to notify the Local 1314 IAFF of the change and provide an opportunity to bargain. That's at least according to a complaint issued by the Massachusetts Department of Labor Relations, after a hearing requested by Local 1314 and Attorney Patrick Bryant. Attorney Leah Barrault filed the charge that led to the hearing.

A federal judge has, at the urging of Attorney General Maura Healey, has dismissed a lawsuit against the new Earned Sick Time Law that was filed by construction employers in Massachusetts.

Attorney James Hykel, on behalf of
IBEW Local 2324, persuaded an independent hearing officer to set aside a National Labor Relations Board election because a division of multi-national conglomerate Time Warner basically attempted to buy union opposition. The Hearing Officer recommended that the election be re-run so that employees have a genuine opportunity to vote about union representation free of undue influence or coercion.

In a decision of groundbreaking importance to public employee unions in Massachusetts, the Commonwealth Employment Relations Board (CERB) affirmed that public employers cannot implement Global Positioning Systems (GPS) without completing labor negotiations first.

An independent arbitrator agreed that Angelica Textile Services wrongly terminated an employee for allegedly walking off the job. Attorney James Hykel advocated for UFCW Local 1445 at the arbitration hearing, establishing that the employer's witnesses were not credible.

Attorney James Hykel successfully defended a victory at the Civil Service Commission from a Superior Court challenge by the Boston Police Department. Here, the BPD rejected a candidate, claiming that he was not psychologically fit to be a police officer based upon second and third-hand accounts provided to the Department. This is one of many decisions
that have overturned Department claims about alleged psychological unfitness of candidates.

Starting July 1, many workers in Massachusetts are entitled to receive and use paid leave for personal or family sickness. Employees covered by the law earn 1 hour of sick leave for every 30 hours of work, up to 40 hours per year. Employees then can use sick leave, at least one hour at a time, to care for themselves or an immediate family member, to attend a medical appointment or to address consequences of domestic violence.

Medical Resources employees become the first private home care agency employees to form a union in Massachusetts as part of the growing Fight for $15 movement. Attorneys David Rome, Patrick Bryant, and Ian Russell provided advice during the organizing and election campaigns.

ALERT TO ALL PUBLIC-SECTOR UNIONS:

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.