Recent Developments

Attorneys Leah Barrault and Al Gordon, on behalf of the Boston Police Superior Officers Federation (“Federation") obtained a decision from the Commonwealth Employment Relations Board (“CERB”) affirming a 2011 decision by a Department of Labor Relations hearing officer that the City of Boston unlawfully transferred bargaining unit duties to non-bargaining unit personnel without giving the Federation prior notice or an opportunity to bargain to resolution or impasse.

In two separate decisions handed down last month, Pyle Rome attorney David Rome obtained awards from labor arbitrators overturning the termination of employees in the public school context.

Attorneys Al Gordon and Ian Russell successfully overturned the termination of two Verizon field technicians who were falsely accused of taking credit for work that they didn’t perform. In separate cases regarding two employees who had been working together, Attorneys Gordon and Russell convinced two different arbitration panels that the Company did not have just cause to terminate either employee.

Attorneys Leah Barrault and Ian Russell, on behalf of the Boston Police Superior Officers’ Federation (“Federation”), obtained a decision from the Commonwealth Employment Relations Board (“CERB”) affirming a 2011 finding by a Department of Labor Relations hearing officer that the City of Boston repudiated a settlement agreement with the Federation.

Attorney Al Gordon of Pyle Rome obtained a strong and definitive decision from Arbitrator Michael C. Ryan ordering that FairPoint Communications end its practice of outsourcing certain service representative jobs out of the country and to other regions of the U.S. The win brings dozens of jobs back to the IBEW-represented employees in Maine and prevents the Company from moving jobs outside of the bargaining unit in the future.

Pyle Rome represents a class of exotic dancers in a claim alleging that the defendants have failed to properly classify the plaintiffs as employees within the meaning of the law, have failed, refused or neglected to pay wages and benefits as required by law, and unlawfully demanded certain payments from the plaintiffs. On January 26, 2012, Essex Superior Court Judge Cornetta awarded a pre-judgment security of $3 million dollars following a summary judgment ruling on liability for the independent contractor claim.

On December 22, 2011, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a Final Rule of Election Procedures that will change procedures for private sector union representation elections, effective April 30, 2012. The Rule is aimed at simplifying election procedures in order to reduce opportunities for manipulation of the representation procedures that currently allow employers to gain unfair advantage and serve to discourage workers’ free choice.

Arbitrator Robert O'Brien has found that the Town of Scituate violated its contract with the Union by denying employees compensatory time on Christmas Eve Day, when Christmas fell on a Saturday. On Christmas Eve Day, Town Hall closed early, but the Employer did not provide compensatory time to cover the remainder of the normal work day.

An arbitrator has found that the City of Lawrence violated its contract with SEIU, Local 888 by laying off an employee when it reassigned virtually all of his duties to another employee. The Employer laid off the grievant in June 2010 when the CBA was in effect. Although the contract permitted layoffs for budgetary reasons, in July, just after the CBA expired, the grievant’s duties were assigned to another employee outside of the bargaining unit.

On January 12, 2012, Attorney Alfred Gordon obtained an arbitration decision overturning the termination of an employee of the state Department of Corrections (DOC) on behalf of SEIU, Local 509. The grievant, a 16-year employee, was terminated for, among other things, allegedly driving while intoxicated. Attorney Gordon successfully challenged the sufficiency of the DOC’s evidence and the Arbitrator overturned the termination, finding that the DOC relied primarily on hearsay evidence in its decision to terminate the grievant.