All posts by Sandulli Grace Staff

DALA Finds that Hazardous Duty Pay is Regular Compensation

Retired Malden police sergeant and member of MassCOP Local 479, Paul McLeod, successfully appealed the Malden Retirement Board’s decision to exclude hazardous duty pay from regular compensation for purposes of computing retirement benefits. In January 2022, following an audit from the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission (PERAC), the retirement board stopped treating hazardous duty pay as regular compensation; PERAC had recommended this change because it found there was “no service” associated with hazardous duty pay.

McLeod, represented by Sandulli Grace attorney Laurel Goldstein, appealed the retirement board’s decision to exclude hazardous duty pay from his regular compensation. McLeod argued that hazardous duty pay is regular compensation because it is compensation received as wages, specifically, pre-determined, non-discretionary, guaranteed payments received because of the character of police work. See 840 CMR 15.03 (3). The retirement board argued that it properly excluded hazardous duty pay because regular compensation is “received exclusively as wages…for services performed in the course of employment.” See M.G.L. Ch. 32, § 1, 840 CMR 15.03 (3). The retirement board argued that hazardous duty pay is not regular compensation because it is not for any additional service outside employees’ regular duties of being a police officer, despite having its own pay code, line on the pay check, and provision in the collective-bargaining agreement.

The Division of Administrative Law Appeals (DALA) agreed with McLeod that hazardous duty pay is regular compensation. It found that hazardous duty pay “obviously” satisfied the regulatory requirements for regular compensation:

  • It was disbursed once every pay period;
  • Its amount was predetermined and unvarying throughout each fiscal year;
  • It was not in any way extraordinary, adventitious, or ad hoc;
  • It did not depend on any discretion or contingency; and
  • It was available to all similarly situated employees.

DALA also rejected the retirement board’s position that hazardous duty pay is not regular compensation because it is a separately negotiated item, not part of officers’ contractual base pay. It credited the testimony of Lieutenant Evan Tuxbury, president of MassCOP Local 479, who explained that it is common practice in bargaining for municipal employers to agree to pay increases based on the specific features of work certain unions perform (e.g. hazardous duty pay for police officers), instead of including every pay increase in the contractual base pay. The full decision is available here.

More On Sandulli Grace’s John Becker’s interview with Salon About The Recent Supreme Court Decision On Unions right To Strike

ONLINE NEWS MAGAZINE SALON INTERVIEWS SANDULLI GRACE ATTORNEY ON RECENT SUPREME COURT DECISION ON UNION’S RIGHT TO STRIKE

Following the June 1, 2023 Supreme Court decision in Glacier Northwest Inc. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local Union No. 174 (No. 21-1449), the online news magazine Salon reached out to Sandulli Grace for expert commentary. In an 8-1 decision, with Justice Amy Coney Barrett writing the majority opinion, the Court ruled against the Teamsters Union and in favor of the employer in a dispute involving the right to strike and federal preemption law. The union had called a strike of its employer, who makes and delivers concrete to construction sites, at a time designed to inflict maximum economic damage and thus increase their bargaining power. But the employer cried foul, saying the union went too far, and tried to sue the union for damages in court for the loss of property caused by the strike when unused concrete hardened and became useless. The union, in response, filed a complaint at the National Labor Relations Board alleging that the employer’s lawsuit was a form of anti-union retaliation. Normally such state law damages suits are preempted by federal labor law (a doctrine known as Garmon preemption after the 1959 Supreme Court decision in San Diego Building Trades Council v. Garmon, 359 U.S. 236 (1959)), but there is a narrow exemption for situations in which the union deliberately damages employer property. The Supreme Court, overturning an appeals court ruling, found that the union’s actions in this case met the exception and the employer could proceed to sue the union in state court.

Attorney John M. Becker, who has practiced law on behalf of unions and employees at Sandulli Grace since 1996, responded to Salon’s request for comments. The article may be found here. While the Salon article contains only abbreviated comments by Attorney Becker, his complete responses to Salon’s interview questions may be found below.

Salon.com: What were your initial reactions to the Court’s findings?

Becker: I’m disappointed but not surprised. This is a conservative court that, in general, prefers the rights of employers over the rights of unions and employees, and the rights of states over the rights of the federal government, and is highly skeptical of the power of federal agencies – witness the recent EPA decision (Sackett vs. Environmental Protection Agency, No. 21-454, decided May 25, 2023).  The Court in this case (at the motion to dismiss stage, when the court must defer to the allegations in the complaint) makes factual determinations about whether the strikers crossed the line from inflicting economic harm through their strike (which is the point of a strike, as Justice Jackson points out!) to taking affirmative steps to destroy employer property.  This is a job for a fact-finding agency like the NLRB, not an appellate court, much less the Supreme Court of the United States.  I think the decision could (as Justice Blackmun warned – see Justice Jackson’s footnote 5) tempt lower courts to delve more into the facts of these cases, instead of leaving that task to the NLRB, which Congress created to conduct investigations and provide fact-finding and legal expertise on labor issues.

On the positive side, Garmon preemption has survived.  That’s a good thing.  And as Justice Jackson points out, the courts that will hear this case after remand can (and should) look to the NLRB’s findings in this matter as important evidence to determine whether preemption is still necessary.  This case – both in the Washington State courts and the NLRB – is far from over.
   
Salon.com: Break it down for a layperson. What’s happening here, and why is it important?

Becker; Although most unions in the private sector have a right to strike, which includes the right to decide when to strike, they can’t go out of their way to destroy the employer’s property.  Strikes are designed to have an economic impact on the employer – if there was no potential for economic harm, then why strike? That’s the whole point: put pressure on the employer to settle the contract.  So if you walk off the job at a chicken factory and the chicken goes bad, that’s permitted.  But at some point, you go from letting the economic harm happen, to actively making it happen.  Here, the Court said that by waiting until the trucks were all full of wet concrete and then leaving the trucks with concrete inside them (concrete that eventually hardened and became useless), the strikers crossed the line from allowing economic harm to actively causing it, which is not OK.  

What’s the legal consequence of that finding?  It means that the employer can sue the union in state court for damage to its property.  If there was a reasonable argument that the union had NOT crossed the line, then the state damages claim would be put on hold until the NLRB (the federal labor agency) made a ruling on the legality of the strike.  If the NLRB said the strike was legal, then the employer’s damages suit would be dismissed.  If the NLRB said the strike was illegal, then the employer’s suit could go forward.

Why is this decision important?  It’s important to employers because they can use this ruling to try to persuade state courts to find that strikes were illegal so they can sue unions for damages caused by the strikes.  The Supreme Court’s decision gives lower courts a little more permission than before to dig into the facts (or alleged facts) to make findings about who did what in the strike.  The threat of more state court lawsuits against unions for destruction of property might cause some unions to think twice before striking. On the other hand, the case is important to unions because they can say that the law didn’t really change that much.  Garmon is still good law.  The exemptions to preemption for certain narrow categories of cases already existed before this case and this case didn’t expand the list of exemptions.  Unions should be concerned, however, about the way that SCOTUS is signaling a willingness to do an end run around the NLRB in confronting the facts of these cases, instead of showing proper deference to the agency charged by Congress with administering the labor laws.  We’ll have to wait and see what future cases bring.

Salon.com: Many were surprised by the Court’s split, with the final verdict being an 8-1 breakdown with only Justice Jackson dissenting. Why do you think the Court sided this way?

Becker: I think the majority decision by Justice Barrett manages to decide the case on its facts without overturning any precedents and that narrow focus appealed to all but the most conservative members of the Court.  I think there was a fear that the Court might take this opportunity to overturn Garmon or otherwise more significantly limit the power of the NLRB (a desire expressed in the concurring opinions), and Justice Barrett’s approach was seen as a middle road (from the union perspective, losing the battle but not the war). Justice Jackson’s dissent would give more power to the NLRB than under current law by requiring courts to find that an NLRB complaint establishes a per se rule that a state law claim “arguably” implicates federal labor law and thus requires what Justice Jackson calls a “Garmon pause” before proceeding further on a state law claim.  Although I agree that the policy proposed by Justice Jackson would be better for unions than the current rule (for the reasons she expressed), I understand why Justices Sotomayor and Kagan chose to join Justice Barrett.  With Justices Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch willing to go even further in an anti-labor direction, and the impossibility of getting five votes for Justice Jackson’s position, creating a majority for Justice Barrett’s position was a sensible strategic move to avoid a worse result.   

Salon.com: Did you have any reaction to Justice Jackson’s emphatic dissent? What does this say about her as a justice?

Becker: I was heartened by Justice Jackson’s dissent.  She displays a true understanding of and respect for the important role of the NLRB in adjudicating labor disputes, and of the crucial role that strikes play in labor-management relations.  The strike is the single most powerful tool in a union’s toolbox, and decisions that weaken that power, even a little, upset the careful balance between union and employer interests. At a time when the Republican Party (and a certain portion of the electorate) perceives unions negatively, Justice Jackson’s robust affirmation of the important role unions play in the American economy is a breath of fresh air. I wish we lived in a world where Justice Jackson could get four more votes for her position, but we don’t. 

Sandulli Grace Attorney Submits Testimony on Civil Service for the Massachusetts Coalition of Police

The police reform bill recently passed by the Massachusetts Legislature (known as the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training or “POST” law) established a number of committees to study various aspects of policing in the Commonwealth. The job of one of those committees is to study the current civil service system and determine whether any changes need to be made, or whether the entire system should be eliminated. Sandulli Grace attorney John M. Becker recently submitted written testimony to the civil service committee on behalf of the Massachusetts Coalition of Police, a statewide law enforcement union that is one of Sandulli Grace’s clients. The testimony is reproduced below:

Mr. Chairman/Madame Chairwoman, members of the Committee:

My name is John Becker. I am an attorney with the law firm of Sandulli Grace, P.C. I am writing on behalf of our client, the Massachusetts Coalition of Police, a labor organization that represents over 4,500 police officers and other law enforcement professionals in more than 175 cities and towns in Massachusetts.

I am here today to testify in favor of retaining the civil service system for public safety employees in Massachusetts. There are significant benefits to keeping civil service, as I will explain, and eliminating the system is likely to have significant negative consequences, not the least of which is that dismantling the system and distributing these powers and duties to 351 separate municipalities would be contrary to the objectives of the POST legislation to create consistent statewide standards for police.

Right now, civil service operates in 170 Massachusetts municipalities, including every city in the Commonwealth and a significant number of towns. The state human resources division (HRD), through its civil service unit, regulates hiring and promotional procedures, compiles and administers tests, and compiles and manages eligibility lists from those tests. When a municipality seeks to appoint or promote a public safety officer, civil service ensures that the legal standards are adhered to. HRD also provides an appeal process for applicants who have concerns regarding bypasses, scoring, and training and experience credits. In addition, the Civil Service Commission provides review of suspensions, terminations, and demotions of civil service employees. Upon the appeal of an employee, the Commission reviews such decisions to ensure there was just cause for the action.

Eliminating the civil service system will have significant negative consequences for employees, municipalities, and the Commonwealth as a whole. The purpose of the civil service system is to ensure that appointments and promotions are based solely on merit. The Commonwealth has developed standardized tests for physical fitness, as well as standardized written examinations testing the applicant’s knowledge and skills. The rules for appointment and promotion ensure that employers must rely primarily on objective criteria – test results, training and experience, and other relevant factors – to make their decisions. The system significantly reduces or eliminates the use of political considerations, personal preferences, favoritism, and other irrelevant criteria for hiring and promotional decisions. Returning control of the system to the municipalities will only increase the opportunities for local officials to use these non-objective criteria in the decision-making process.

Maybe even more importantly, the elimination of the statewide standards provided by civil service is inconsistent with the purposes of the recently-passed POST legislation. The idea behind POST is to develop stringent and consistent statewide standards for police. Right now, civil service provides a single, statewide set of standards and rules for hiring and promotion of public safety employees. But dismantling civil service and giving total power for hiring and promotion to the municipalities will potentially create 351 separate sets of rules and standards for hiring and promotion. Instead of furthering the objectives of the POST law, eliminating civil service and dispersing these duties to individual municipalities will do just the opposite, by reducing consistency and creating a patchwork quilt of different standards across the Commonwealth.

This is not to say that municipalities do not have any say in hiring and promotion. Under civil service law, municipalities have the ability to choose from among the top scorers according to a formula known as “2N + 1” and may bypass the top scorer with any reasonable justification. Municipalities can also work with civil service to develop locality-specific testing, or adopt innovative hiring processes such as assessment centers (at the municipality’s cost) to supplement the tests administered by the state. HRD’s rules also allow municipalities to specifically seek local residents, people who speak a certain foreign language, or, if there is a showing of prior discrimination, they can ask for a list of women or minority candidates in order to increase diversity. Furthermore, towns already have the ability to remove themselves from civil service entirely through the political process, and quite a few have taken that step. If municipalities have concerns about specific aspects of the state hiring and promotional rules, they should ask the Legislature to make targeted changes instead of getting rid of the whole system and throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

The ability to appeal disciplinary action to the Civil Service Commission is also a benefit to employees and municipalities. The Civil Service Commission provides a low-cost way for individuals to obtain due process – in a setting removed from local politics – and determine whether there was just cause for suspensions, discharges and demotions. The Commission upholds the discipline in the vast majority of cases. Although many police unions and municipalities also have just cause provisions in their collective bargaining agreements (CBAs), which are resolved through neutral third-party arbitration, some CBAs lack such just cause provisions and so civil service appeals are the only way to obtain review of discipline. Furthermore, because the Union controls the ability to go to arbitration, some individuals may prefer to go to civil service, where they have full control of the process. Even where arbitration is available, civil service provides a lower-cost alternative that both municipalities and unions may sometimes find useful.

In conclusion:

Police officers should be evaluated based on their merit alone. The existence of the civil service system reassures the public that officers have their jobs for no reason other than their qualifications. Police officers can concentrate on doing their jobs, without worrying about being beholden to any particular political force in the community.

The civil service system also provides a consistent statewide standard for hiring and promotion of police and other public safety employees. Fragmenting the system into a hodgepodge of municipal hiring and promotional policies will cause duplication of costs, increased potential for inconsistency, not to mention the potential for political considerations to enter into the process, and moreover, is exactly contrary to the purpose and objectives of the POST legislation.

For these reasons, I urge the Committee to retain the civil service system in Massachusetts.

Tribute to Joseph G. Sandulli, November 17, 1944 to March 10, 2021

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our colleague, mentor and friend, Joseph G. Sandulli. Joe passed away on March 10, 2021, with his family around him, after a characteristically courageous battle with cancer.

Joe graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1969 and became an attorney in 1970. On April 1, 1977, Joe founded what would become Sandulli Grace, P.C., by opening his own law practice on Mt. Vernon Street in Boston.

His solo practice grew into Boston’s premier union-side public sector labor law firm.

He was at the vanguard in forming what has since grown to be the largest law enforcement union in Massachusetts and New England. Organized in 1979 with just five local police departments in the Worcester area, the Massachusetts Coalition of Police (“MASS C.O.P.”) represents over 4,400 members in over 173 cities and towns in Massachusetts. Sandulli Grace has grown with MassCOP, and MassCOP became part of Joe’s family. Together, MassCOP and Sandulli Grace have established an over 40-year tradition of providing the highest quality of service to Massachusetts law enforcement officers.

Joe’s contribution to union-side labor law is legendary. Joe was the editor of the “Judicial Guide to Labor and Employment Law.” He served the Massachusetts bar as a Co-Chair of the Boston Bar Labor & Employment Law Section. He was the first lawyer in our firm to receive the Labor Guild’s Cushing-Gavin Award for Union Attorneys, which the Guild presented to him in 2008.

Joe negotiated excellent contracts, and advocated ferociously in all legal fora for our union clients, including countless locals of the Massachusetts Coalition of Police, the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, the Massachusetts Teachers Association, and many independent police, firefighter, EMT/paramedic and civilian unions.

Joe was brilliant and fearless. He once conducted an interest arbitration late into the night for the BPPA, prompting an anonymous source to write on our firm’s bathroom wall, “Joe Sandulli is Awesome.” That he was.

Joe believed strongly in educating the firm’s clients. He fostered a tradition of education, which has culminated in our firm’s regular education seminars for our clients, particularly the Massachusetts Coalition of Police, who share his vision of union empowerment through education. When Joe retired in 2015, we asked him what kind of retirement party he wanted. He immediately said he wanted it to be an education seminar. We invited some colleagues to speak on a panel with him about a pending U.S. Supreme Court Case called Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, which became the precursor to Janus v. ASFCME, the decision that ended agency service fee for public employees. You have not discussed Supreme Court law until you have done it while sharing cocktails with Joe Sandulli.

Joe was a loving family man, and he integrated his family into the fabric of our firm. He was unfailingly respectful to all members of this firm, from the most senior to the most junior, always paying attention to our opinions. Joe seemed to know everything, but his curiosity never failed and he never stopped learning. Joe was creative, interesting, fun and kind. He kept us on high alert with his spontaneity and quirky sense of humor. The only thing one could ever predict about Joe was his excellence as a lawyer.

Joe continually stunned us with his physical vitality, defying the aging process to play competitive soccer and ride his horse daily, well into the last year of his life. We thought that nothing could stop him, but unfortunately cancer did. Our hearts are broken by his loss, but his values are embedded in Sandulli Grace and will live on in the law firm he built. We love you, Joe.

Please share your memories of Joe below.

FEDERAL COURT DISMISSES LAWSUIT AGAINST BROOKLINE FIREFIGHTERS’ UNION

On April 2, 2020, a federal court judge dismissed a discrimination lawsuit against Local 950, International Association of Firefighers (the Brookline firefighters’ union) brought by one of its members. In granting the Union’s motion for summary judgment in Alston v. Town of Brookline, NO. 15-13987-GAO, the Court (Judge George O’Toole) found that there is no genuine issue of material of fact between the parties that needs to be settled through a trial and the matter could be resolved as a matter of law. In reaching this conclusion, the Court stated that the Plaintiff “fails to cite to competent, non-conclusory evidence in support of his objections to the defendant’s cited evidence.”

In 2015, the Plaintiff filed three federal civil rights claims against the Town of Brookline, various town officials, and the Union under Chapter 42, sections 1981, 1983, and 1985 of the U.S. Code. The gist of the claims was that the Union retaliated against the Plaintiff after he protested the discriminatory conduct of another Union member and that the Union failed to file grievances on his behalf because of his race. The Court rejected the 1983 claim, which requires government action, because, as the Court found, ““[t]he factual record does not support a conclusion that the Union was in any way acting under the color of state law… There is simply no evidence that would raise a genuine issue of fact that the Union became so allied with the Town’s actions toward [the Plaintiff] that it effectively became a state actor.” The Section 1985 claim, which requires a finding of a conspiracy between two or more parties, also failed after the Court concluded that “[t]here is no evidence that the Union and the Town were conspiring against [the Plaintiff] to retaliate or discriminate against him” and “there is no evidence in the extensive record that could support a conclusion … that the Union conspired with [the Town] to deprive [the Plaintiff] of his rights.”

The Court also dismissed the Section 1981 claim. To state a claim under Section 1981 a plaintiff must show that they are a racial minority, that they were discriminated against on the basis of their race and that the discrimination implicated one of the activities enumerated in the statute. One activity is the enforcement of contracts; the Plaintiff alleged that the Union had failed to enforce its contract with him because of his race and in retaliation for protesting the actions of other Union members. The Court rejected the Section 1981 claim, noting that “[s]ubstantively, the record lacks evidence that … the Union retaliated against [the Plaintiff] for any protected activity or otherwise itself discriminated against [the Plaintiff] (emphasis included).” The Court noted that the Plaintiff did not approach the Union for assistance: “It cannot be said to have been materially discriminatory for the Union not to have acted when it appeared [the Plaintiff] did not want it to act on his behalf.” Judge O’Toole also pointed out that many of the allegations against the Union were barred by the statute of limitations because they occurred too far in the past.

In addition to dismissing the Plaintiff’s claims against the Union, the Federal Court also dismissed the claims against the Town of Brookline and individual Brookline officials. The Plaintiff has already filed a notice of appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, where the Court will review Judge O’Toole’s rulings. In the meantime, this victory for the Union is an affirmation of their consistent position that they fight hard for the benefit of their members – all their members – regardless of race, creed or color.

READ THE DECISION HERE

Sandulli Grace, P.C. and the Massachusetts Coalition of Police Present the next 2019 Training on December 4, 2019

Sandulli Grace, P.C. and the Massachusetts Coalition of Police are proud to announce our third 2019 police union training. Sandulli Grace and MassCOP believe in empowering MassCOP’s local unions through education, to create a stronger, safer environment for members. Our 2019 training sessions will give you tools to enforce your rights and improve your members’ working conditions.

Basics Trainings

In the past two years, MassCOP and Sandulli Grace have presented multiple “basics” trainings to our police unions. We believe there is a continued need for these trainings, as unions continue to elect new leaders, and new legal challenges present themselves every day. Topics include:

  • Grievance Processing
  • Discipline
  • Bargaining
  • Stress in the Workplace

Whether you are newly elected, or a seasoned union leader looking for ideas on how to make your job easier and more effective, these basics trainings can give you helpful information about issues that local unions face every day.

Bring Your Contract!

We intend this training to be interactive and practical, so we ask each person to please bring a copy of your collective bargaining agreement so that we can discuss real situations. PARTICIPATION IS NOT NECESSARY, BUT IT ADDS TO EVERYONE’S EXPERIENCE! WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE IT! We will help you interpret your contract’s provisions on grievance processing and appealing discipline, and we will discuss what proposals you might want to make in your next round of bargaining.

How to Register

Our next 2019 training will be held on Wednesday, December 4, 2019 from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at the American Legion Hall, 199 Federal Furnace Rd, Plymouth, MA 02360. Please see the attached flyer. The cost is $55 per person. Payment can be by check mailed to Gia Capozzi at Sandulli Grace, P.C., 44 School Street, Suite 1100, Boston, MA 02018, or by credit card at this link:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/basics-training-2019-tickets-74856835811.

We welcome your feedback regarding the location and content of these training sessions. Please do not hesitate to contact us with questions or suggestions at gcapozzi@sandulligrace.com.

Download the event flyer

Sandulli Grace, P.C. and the Massachusetts Coalition of Police Present the next 2019 Training

Sandulli Grace, P.C. and the Massachusetts Coalition of Police are proud to announce our third 2019 police union training. Sandulli Grace and MassCOP believe in empowering MassCOP’s local unions through education, to create a stronger, safer environment for members. Our 2019 training sessions will give you tools to enforce your rights and improve your members’ working conditions.

Basics Trainings

In the past two years, MassCOP and Sandulli Grace have presented multiple “basics” trainings to our police unions. We believe there is a continued need for these trainings, as unions continue to elect new leaders, and new legal challenges present themselves every day. Topics include:

  • Grievance Processing
  • Discipline
  • Bargaining
  • Stress in the Workplace

Whether you are newly elected, or a seasoned union leader looking for ideas on how to make your job easier and more effective, these basics trainings can give you helpful information about issues that local unions face every day.

Bring Your Contract!

We intend this training to be interactive and practical, so we ask each person to please bring a copy of your collective bargaining agreement so that we can discuss real situations. PARTICIPATION IS NOT NECESSARY, BUT IT ADDS TO EVERYONE’S EXPERIENCE! WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE IT! We will help you interpret your contract’s provisions on grievance processing and appealing discipline, and we will discuss what proposals you might want to make in your next round of bargaining.

How to Register

Our next 2019 training will be held on Wednesday, December 4, 2019 from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at the American Legion Hall, 199 Federal Furnace Rd, Plymouth, MA 02360. Please see the attached flyer. The cost is $55 per person. Payment can be by check mailed to Gia Capozzi at Sandulli Grace, P.C., 44 School Street, Suite 1100, Boston, MA 02018, or by credit card at this link:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/basics-training-2019-tickets-74856835811.

We welcome your feedback regarding the location and content of these training sessions. Please do not hesitate to contact us with questions or suggestions at gcapozzi@sandulligrace.com.

Download the event flyer

Sandulli Grace Welcomes Former Labor Board Attorney James Racine

Sandulli Grace is excited to announce the hiring of our newest attorney, James Racine. James brings a wealth of experience in labor issues to the firm from his time working as a field attorney for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Region 31, in Los Angeles. As a field attorney, James acted on behalf of the General Counsel by investigating charges of unfair labor practices and resolving and litigating cases before administrative law judges. James also helped conduct elections to determine union representation preferences and drafted decisions for the Regional Director in contested representation matters.

Prior to working for the NLRB, James served as a law clerk to administrative law judges at the United States Department of Labor in Washington, D.C. and Boston. He also represented clients at administrative hearings before the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance as an attorney in the employment law unit of the Central West Justice Center in Worcester, MA.

James received his Juris Doctor from Boston College Law School, and a bachelor’s in history from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. During law school, James represented an asylum seeker before the Boston Immigration Court as a student attorney in the Boston College Law School Immigration and Asylum Clinic and completed internships at the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Solicitor, the Medical-Legal Partnership, and the International Legal Foundation in Nepal and New York.

James currently lives in Norton, MA with his wife and two children. He enjoys traveling, reading, and following the Red Sox. Please join us in welcoming James to Sandulli Grace.

MASSACHUSETTS COALITION OF POLICE ADVANCED TRAINING TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2019

Sponsored and run by MassCOP officials and attorneys from Sandulli Grace, P.C.

This training will go beyond MassCOP’s “basics” trainings to explore in depth the process of bargaining your next contract, including:

Identifying comparable communities
Analyzing comparable benefits
The municipality’s ability to pay
Drafting proposals
Ground rules
Negotiating tactics
Health insurance
Ratification of the MOA
Getting the contract funded
The JLMC process

This advanced training session will be held on Tuesday, April 23, 2019, at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, 5400 Computer Dr., Westborough, MA from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. with reception to follow

Cost is $85 per person INCLUDES Continental Breakfast, Lunch, a Cocktail Reception & Materials

Please pay by check or credit card at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/advanced-training-tickets-58452715646
Seating is limited so registration is final.

For more information, please visit our web sites: www.sandulligrace.com or www.masscop.org

Massachusetts Law Review Publishes Article on Labor Arbitration by Sandulli Grace Attorney

The most recent edition of the Massachusetts Law Review features an article by Sandulli Grace attorney John M. Becker entitled, “The Role of Public Policy in Judicial Review of Massachusetts Public Sector Labor Arbitration Awards.” The article reviews the decision by the Supreme Judicial Court in City of Boston v. Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, 477 Mass. 434 (2017) in light of the history of court review of labor arbitration in Massachusetts, with a particular focus on public policy. The article discusses three ways in which public policy plays a role in judicial review of arbitration:

  1. the policy in favor of resolving labor disputes through arbitration, and against judicial interference in such disputes;
  2. the public policy exception to labor arbitration awards, a court-created doctrine used to overturn certain decisions by arbitrators that violate public policy; and
  3. the nondelegability doctrine, pursuant to which the courts have found that some arbitration awards (and the collective bargaining agreements they are enforcing) are unenforceable because they impinge on the management rights of the public employer.

In addition to tracing the history of public sector labor arbitration and public policy, Attorney Becker provides his opinions on certain key legal questions, including:

  1. expressing a concern that after a court finds certain CBA language is unenforceable under the nondelegability doctrine, the Union has no opportunity to go back to the bargaining table to obtain a replacement benefit for the one that was lost;
  2. opining that, in cases involving awards reinstating discharged employees, the public policy exception should be restricted to cases in which a specific law requires termination – and only termination – as a punishment for the named offense; and
  3. advocating that the contours of the nondelegablility doctrine should be consistent with cases under G.L. c. 150E defining mandatory and permissive subjects of bargaining.

Many of the cases discussed in the article were litigated by Attorney Becker or other Sandulli Grace attorneys, including: City of Boston v. Boston Police Patrolmen’s Ass’n, 477 Mass. 434 (2017); Adams v. City of Boston, 461 Mass. 602 (2012); City of Boston v. Boston Police Patrolmen’s Ass’n, 443 Mass. 813 (2005); School Comm. of Marshfield v. Marshfield Educ. Ass’n, 84 Mass. App. Ct. 743 (2014); City of Boston v. Police Patrolmen’s Ass’n, 74 Mass. App. Ct. 379 (2009); Boston Police Patrolmen’s Ass’n v. City of Boston, 60 Mass. App. Ct. 672 (2004); and City of Boston v. Boston Police Patrolmen’s Ass’n, 41 Mass. App. Ct. 269 (1996).

Attorney Becker’s article can be found in Massachusetts Law Review Volume 100, No. 2 (March 2019). You can see the full article here. https://www.massbar.org/docs/default-source/publications-document-library/massachusetts-law-review/2018/mlrvol100no2.pdf?sfvrsn=4. The Massachusetts Law Review is published by the Massachusetts Bar Association.