Tag Archives: Police

Arbitrator Reverses Discipline – Finds MassCOP Officer Was Not Insubordinate

Arbitrator Nancy Peace recently issued an arbitration award reversing disciplinary action issued to a Concord police sergeant. In the award, Arbitrator Peace found that the sergeant – who had a spotless 20 year record with the Concord Police Department – did not commit the offense he was accused of. The case includes some important language regarding the nature of insubordination, an offense that often leads to employee discipline. The Union was represented by Sandulli Grace attorney John M. Becker

The case involves the police department’s planning for a large public event in Concord. Sgt. Joseph Connell was not involved in the planning, but two other sergeants were. Sgt. Connell and his Union – the Concord Police Association, Local 260 of the Massachusetts Coalition of Police – understood these sergeants to be acting on a voluntary basis. At one point, the Police Chief asked Sgt. Connell to help with the planning on a voluntary basis. Sgt. Connell provided some assistance, but eventually e-mailed the Chief stating that there was nothing more to do. The Chief e-mailed back, “I want you to handle the scheduling for us.” Sgt. Connell responded (also by e-mail) that he did not want to volunteer to work on the planning, and he expressed concerns that the process had begun so late. The next thing Sgt. Connell knew, he was brought in to the Chief’s office and issued a written reprimand for insubordination. He was also reassigned from his midnight shift to the day shift where he would allegedly undergo training for an undetermined period. As it turned out, he was reassigned for seven weeks and received very little training. Interestingly, Sgt. Connell was required to take part in the event planning during his reassignment.

Sgt. Connell and the Union grieved the discipline and the reassignment and the grievance proceeded to arbitration before Arbitrator Nancy Peace. After hearing testimony from Sgt. Connell, Union President Chuck DiRienzo, the Police Chief and others, the Arbitrator ruled in the Union’s favor. According to the Arbitrator, insubordination must be determined by looking at the understanding of the person receiving the alleged order. Here, while the Chief may have believed he was giving an order, Sgt. Connell, based on all the facts, believed he was being asked to volunteer. The Arbitrator reasoned, “It is the responsibility of a superior officer to insure that his or her orders are clear and have been received. Where there is any indication that there may be some confusion or misunderstanding, as there certainly was here, it is the responsibility of the superior officer to investigate and clarify.” The Arbitrator concluded, “This grievance and arbitration could have been avoided had Chief Neal responded to Sgt. Connell’s August 25, 7:59 a.m. e-mail by clarifying that he was not asking Connell to volunteer to handle the scheduling; he was ordering or directing him to do so.”

Arbitrator Peace found that the Town violated the just cause provision of the collective bargaining agreement between the Town and the Union by issuing the discipline and reassigning Sgt. Connell to the day shift. She ordered the discipline removed from Sgt. Connell’s record and ordered him compensated for financial losses as the result of the reassignment.

Read the decision…

Superior Court Rules Police Officers Entitled To Quinn Bill Benefits

A Boston Police officer and a Wellesley police sergeant received good news this week when Superior Court judge Carol Ball ruled that the state Board of Higher Education had to certify their master’s degrees in criminal justice as eligible for benefits under the Quinn Bill educational incentive program. [The decision can be found here.] Boston Police Officer Miguelangelo Pires and Wellesley Sergeant Glen Gerrans, with the support of their unions, the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association and the Massachusetts Coalition of Police, sued the Board of Higher Ed after the Board refused to allow them to earn Quinn Bill educational incentive benefits for their master’s degrees.

The case arose after the Legislature amended the Quinn Bill – which provides salary increases for police officers who earn advanced degrees in law and law enforcement – to tighten the academic requirements for the educational institutions where officers were earning their degrees. The new academic restrictions eliminated a number of schools from the list of eligible institutions, but a grandfather clause in the legislation stated that anyone enrolled in one of the previously-listed schools before January 1, 2004, could continue in that program and his or her degree would qualify for Quinn Bill benefits. Both Officer Pires and Sgt. Gerrans registered for classes in the Boston University master’s program in the fall of 2003, but they didn’t start classes until after January 1, 2004. After they completed their degrees in 2005, the Board of Higher Education refused to approve them. According to the Board, ‘enrolled’ meant ‘taking classes’, so in its view Pires and Gerrans weren’t enrolled in time to fall under the grandfather clause.

The officers approached their unions, who enlisted the help of Sandulli Grace attorneys Joseph Sandulli and Susan Horwitz, who attempted to negotiate with the Board of Higher Education to resolve this issue, which did not involve many officers. Ultimately, negotiations broke down and Sandulli Grace attorney John M. Becker filed a lawsuit on behalf of Pires and Gerrans against the Board of Higher Education. The officers argued that the plain meaning of ‘enrolled’ is to register and that the Board’s interpretation of enrolled as taking classes was inconsistent with common understanding and legal precedents. This week, a Superior Court judge agreed with the police officers and ruled that they were covered by the grandfather clause and so are entitled to Quinn Bill benefits for their master’s degrees. As the judge stated, “the meaning of ‘enrolled’ is limited to registration, and as such, reflects the intent of the Legislature to permit police officers who have registered for degrees in criminal justice programs certified by the Board prior to January 1, 2004 to benefit from their efforts toward obtaining further education.” Congratulations to Officer Pires and Sgt. Gerrans – their efforts toward obtaining further education are finally paying off.

Sandulli Grace and MassCOP win arbitration awarding officer c. 41 Section 111F benefits based on injury that occurred while training for an upcoming physical fitness assessment

In November 2009, Sudbury Police Officer Ryan Boyd tore a muscle in his chest while lifting weights.  Although he was working out at a private gym on his own time, he was doing so in preparation for an upcoming physical fitness assessment that was a mandatory part of his role on the METRO-LEC METRO-STAR “Regional Response Team.” The Town refused to grant Boyd Injured on Duty Leave, arguing that the injury was sustained while Boyd was “taking part in a personal hobby that had no connection to his job as a Sudbury Police Officer.”

The Sudbury Police Association, MCOP Local 370, AFL-CIO, arbitrated the case, represented by Attorney Leigh Panettiere of Sandulli Grace, P.C.  The Arbitrator agreed with the Union’s argument and found that Boyd’s injury “arose out of and in the course of his employment” because the Town required Officer Boyd to be in “excellent physical condition” and participate in an “ongoing physical fitness program” while not providing him paid time to exercise nor a facility in which to do so.  The Arbitrator also noted that Boyd’s commanding officer had advised him and his fellow RRT members to keep training for the upcoming assessment.

The arbitrator rejected the Town’s argument that Boyd was engaged in a hobby that had no connection to his employment. The fact that Officer Boyd enjoyed weight lifting and had a long history of regular fitness training was irrelevant. The heightened physical requirements of Boyd’s specialized team meant that he did not have the option to stop training. Also, the arbitrator noted that officers already committed to physical fitness are more likely to serve on a team that requires a high level of fitness.

The Town was ordered to restore Boyd’s wages and benefits to the level they would have been set at had his request for §111F benefits been originally granted.  The town will also have to restore all of the paid leave time Boyd was required to use during his recovery.

This is an important decision for Massachusetts police officers and fire fighters. It is not uncommon for injuries to occur while training to meet required physical fitness standards, and this award provides strong support for the argument that those injuries are compensable.

Read the Arbitrator’s Award…

City Of Boston Ordered To Pay Police Union Members $16.5 Million To Resolve Longstanding Labor Dispute.

It is a case that began way back in September 1994, when the City of Boston (“City”) first assigned Boston Municipal Police (“Municipal Police”) to patrol the Boston Housing Authority (“BHA”) housing developments without first bargaining with the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association (“BPPA”). Now, 16 years later after protracted litigation, the City has finally agreed to pay damages owed to the Boston police officers who should have performed the work. The Massachusetts Division of Labor Relations (“DLR”) this week issued a Stipulated Order which instructs the City to pay $16.5 million to affected officers according to a method agreed to by the parties.

The Order puts an end to a saga that began even before 1994. The BPPA, which represents patrol officers employed by the Boston Police Department (“BPD”), had objected to the creation of another, second-tier police force in the City – the Boston Municipal Police – from the start. But when the City assigned Municipal Police to patrol the BHA developments, the BPPA filed a charge of unfair labor practice with the state labor board, then called the Labor Relations Commission (“Commission”). The charge accused the City of violating G.L. c. 150E, section 10(a)(5) when it subcontracted BPPA work to the Municipal Police without first giving the BPPA notice and an opportunity to bargain. A hearing officer of the LRC upheld the BPPA’s charge after a hearing (at which the BPPA was represented by Sandulli Grace Attorney Susan F. Horwitz) in 1996, and the full Commission affirmed the decision in 2000. See City of Boston, 23 MLC 133 (1996), affirmed by 26 MLC 144 (2000). The City then appealed to the Mass. Appeals Court, where the BPPA, represented by Sandulli Grace Attorney John M. Becker, in 2003 was again successful. See City of Boston v. Labor Relations Commission, 58 Mass. App. Ct. 1102 (2003). Finally, after the Appeals Court decision, the City removed the Municipal Police from the developments. The force was eventually disbanded, with some of its members transferring to the Boston Police Department.

Back in 1996 and 2000, the Labor Relations Commission ruled that the City must: return to the status quo before the violation (and remove the Municipal Police from the developments); make officers whole for any financial losses; and bargain before making any changes. The Commission ordered the City and the BPPA to attempt to determine the damages, but numerous meetings over many years were fruitless, largely because the City took the position that it owed no damages. As a result of this dispute, the parties asked the Commission for help. By 2010, the Labor Relations Commission had become the Division of Labor Relations, and scheduled a series of meetings with the parties. First the parties attempted to mediate a settlement, without success. Then, the DLR held three days of compliance hearings, where the BPPA was represented by Sandulli Grace Attorneys Amy Laura Davidson and John M. Becker, in an effort to establish the amount of damages. It was out of this process that the parties developed a series of stipulations that led to the Stipulated Order issued by the DLR this week.

The Stipulated Order distributes the damages in a fair and equitable manner among current and former members of the BPPA. First, the nine-year damages period is divided into quarters beginning October 1, 1994 and ending September 30, 2003. Then, each person who was an active member of the BPD and a dues (or agency fee) paying member of the BPPA on the first day of each quarter is entitled to a payment for that quarter, up to a maximum 36 quarters. (This means some of those entitled to payments will be retired or promoted into higher ranks.) Then it gets a little complicated. The total amount of damages ($16.5 million) is then divided by the total number of quarters worked by all eligible individuals, for the payment-per-quarter. Every individual will receive the payment-per-quarter for each quarter that he or she is eligible. Because the total number of individuals and quarters has not yet been determined, we don’t yet know the payment-per-quarter, so we can’t yet tell individuals how much they will receive. This will take a little time, but the BPPA and the City hope to have the process substantially completed in the coming months.

Throughout the years, the leadership of the BPPA has never stopped fighting for a fair result to bring back to their members in this litigation. With this week’s Stipulated Order, they’ve reached their goal.

Mashpee Quinn Bill Case Update: Judge Denies Town’s Attempt To Muddy Case – Plaintiffs Will File For Summary Judgment In Their Favor

Barnstable Superior Court Justice Gary Nickerson has rejected the Town of Mashpee’s attempt to forcibly join the Mashpee police Union to the lawsuit brought by several Mashpee Police Officers who contend that the Town violated the law when it cut their Quinn Benefits. The Officers, represented by Sandulli Grace, successfully argued that the case involved a violation of the law by the Town, and that their union was not a proper party. “The Town was trying to muddy the issue in the case by seeking to join the Union as a party. We’re pleased that Judge Nickerson rejected this attempt, as we can now move forward to seek a ruling on the merits,” said Sandulli Grace Partner Bryan Decker, lead counsel on the case.

In the suit, the officers contend that the Town of Mashpee violated the Quinn Bill (found at G.L. c. 41, §108L) when it reduced Quinn payments to officers. The Town reduced the payments due to the state’s cutting of Quinn funding to municipalities. “The Quinn bill is a wage law that guarantees certain level of pay to officers who better themselves and their departments by seeking education. This is no different than if the Town sought to pay officers less than minimum wage. I certainly feel for the cities and towns that have suffered a back door local aid cut via the state’s underfunding of the Quinn program. However, that doesn’t allow those cities and towns to cut the pay of officers. Two wrongs most certainly do not make a right,” said Decker.

It should be noted that while the Union was properly found to NOT be a proper party to the suit, the plaintiffs’ union, the Massachusetts Coalition of Police, is fully supporting its members in their attempt to be paid all of the wages the law guarantees to them – including their Quinn Bill wages.

Mashpee Quinn Suit Update! Judge Denies Town’s Motion To Dismiss Case To Proceed To Ruling On Merits

Earlier this week Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Robert Rufo denied the Town of Mashpee’s motion to dismiss the Quinn bill lawsuit brought by several Mashpee Officers. The Suit contends that the Town violated the law when it reduced Quinn Bill payments to officers based on an anticipated reduction in state funding. After hearing argument, Judge Rufo denied the motion from the bench, an unusual move. The case will now proceed to a decision on the merit.

The suit alleges that under the Quinn Bill, a municipality may NOT reduce Quinn bill benefits, even if the collective bargaining agreement between the municipality and its union would purport to allow a reduction. This is because the Quinn Bill is NOT a statute that parties may amend via bargaining. Allowing a Town to reduce Quinn benefits is the same as allowing it to pay officers below the minimum wage. Even if the contract says it’s permissible, it is not.

“We’re extremely happy that Judge Rufo refused to dismiss the case. The officers will now have their case heard on its merits,” said Sandulli Grace’s Bryan Decker, who argued for the officers. “We’re confident that we will prevail and that the Town will be ordered to pay its officers the full benefit to which they are entitled.”

Even assuming that the case will be successful, educational benefits for officers are not ensured in the future. The legislature already “closed” the program to newly hired officers; and the Governor is pushing further changes that would ALLOW a town to reduce payments if the state short changes the town on reimbursement. “It’s pretty disgraceful, the state’s reduction in Quinn reimbursement is nothing more than a back door local aid cut,” says Decker. “Nonetheless, towns and cities can’t just cut police officers’ pay. That’s outrageous.”

HRD SETS BANDING HEARING FOR 12/14

As those of you who followed HRD’s attempt to “band” scores from the October 2008 police promotional exam know, we were able to defeat that attempt on procedural grounds by arguing that such a substantive change must be the subject of rulemaking. Well, HRD has regrouped, and yesterday Chief Human Resources Officer Paul “Ebenezer” Dietl sent out notice that he intended to change the Personnel Administrator Rules to allow banding and set a hearing on the changes for December 14 at 2:00 p.m. at 100 Ashburton Place. You can read the notice of hearing and the proposed rules here, http://www.mass.gov/Eoaf/docs/hrd/cs/information/par_amendments_2009.pdf .

Obviously, the fact that HRD is actually following its own rules by scheduling a hearing does not lessen the potential impact of banding – which, without a doubt, will undermine merit-based hiring by allowing appointing authorities vastly more discretion that is currently allowed. We’ll be studying the proposed rules and getting ready for the 14th. We’ll see you there!

The State Budgets To Drastically Reduce The State’s Quinn Bill Funding And Amends Language To Limit Eligibility – A Double Insult To Police Officers

We’ve known for months that the Commonwealth was considering a drastic cut to the Quinn Bill funding.  The FY2010 budget has now been signed by the Governor, and the State has appropriated only $10,000,000 to fund “its share” of Quinn Bill reimbursement, about an 80% cut.  Unfortunately, they saw fit to add insult to injury, also including language that will prevent officers from obtaining Quinn Benefits in the future. 

UNDERFUNDING

Underfunding of the Quinn can impact different departments differently, depending on how collective bargaining agreements treat Quinn.  The important thing to keep in mind is that the State “share” of Quinn funding is actually the State reimbursing a municipality for monies already expended.  What the State budget passed this week does is actually tell municipalities to anticipate that they will not be fully reimbursed in FY2010 for monies that they have already paid to officers for FY2009.  Under the Quinn statute, municipalities report how much they paid in the prior fiscal year to the Department of Education by September of the current year.  Thus, the request for FY09 reimbursement will not even be finalized until September, with the monies to be reimbursed in April or May of 2010.  Also, while the just passed budget would not cover the state’s full share of anticipated Quinn Bill reimbursement, at anytime between now and the end of FY2010 a supplemental appropriation could provide greater funding.  Therefore, it is premature for any city or town to be proposing reducing Quinn payments NOW based on the just passed FY2010 budget.

Even assuming that underfunding eventually occurs, unless your collective bargaining agreement provides for a reduction in a municipality’s Quinn Bill payments to officers in the case of the State not fully reimbursing, your city or town is still on the hook for paying the full statutory Quinn amount.  This is, again, because the Quinn Bill says that the officer will be paid the amounts, and the state will reimburse.  The problem with municipalities that are “on the hook” for the full statutory Quinn amount is that some claim to be considering trying to repeal the Quinn based on the possible underfunding.  Municipalities are emboldened to float such an idea based on the State taking the lead in undermining support for the Quinn bill.  This has gone so far that the Chiefs of Police have a legal advisory on their site regarding how to repeal the Quinn (This blows my mind, as the vast majority of Chiefs receive Quinn payments at a much higher level than police officers based on their much higher salaries).  It is IMPERATIVE that you keep us apprised of any efforts in your city or town to try to repeal the Quinn, and that you let us know immediately if something arises.

The projected underfunding of the Quinn in municipalities with contractual language for the city or town to be able to recoup Quinn payments because of the State budget presents a multitude of issues.  It should be noted that there is an argument to be made that any such language is unenforceable, as a collective bargaining agreement cannot technically trump the Quinn Bill statute.  However, this is an untested argument, and one that is difficult for a union to make – as the union agreed to the language.

With regards to contract language regarding Quinn, unfortunately there is no “one size fits all” answer for such municipalities, as the resolution of the issue is highly dependent on the specific language of the contract at issue.  It is highly advisable that you formulate a game plan with your parent union and/or counsel before you sit down with management to discuss the impact of possible underfunding.  For instance, in one town, the town agreed to address a past underfunding by officers surrendering earned comp time – no bargain, but at least an outcome that did not reduce paychecks.

CHANGES TO QUINN ELIGIBILITY

Again, once the State had Quinn benefits on the ground, it couldn’t help but administer a swift kick to the ribs via cutting off Quinn eligibility.  The budget language reads:

[A]ny current regular full-time member of a municipal police department who has not started accumulating points pursuant to said section 108L of said chapter 41 of the General Laws, as of September 1, 2009, shall not be eligible to participate in the career incentive pay program established pursuant to said section 108L of said chapter 41 of the General Laws…

 Based on this language, the $64,000 question is what does it mean to “start accumulating points” towards a Quinn Degree?  Does it mean that an officer has to actually have some credits towards an associate’s degree to qualify, or will it suffice that an officer has started taking classes by 9/1/09 in order to be eligible to eventually get a Quinn benefit?  This is not clear.  What is clear is that anyone who starts to pursue a degree after September 1 will not be eligible for Quinn.  As a result, 8 week credit courses in public safety starting today should be VERY well attended.

The only, and I mean ONLY, slightly good news is that Officers working towards a degree will be allowed to continue to progress towards a full Masters level Quinn.  The language is:

any current regular full-time member of a municipal police department who has begun to accumulate points pursuant to said section 108L of said chapter 41 of the General Laws as of September 1, 2009 shall be allowed to accumulate the maximum number of points permissible pursuant to said section 108L of said chapter 41 of the General Laws.

Thus, if you are on your way to an Associate’s degree, you will be able to receive Quinn benefits when you reach that level, and will be able to “move up the Quinn ladder” to a Bachelors and Masters degree.  How much you’ll get for those degrees, as noted above, remains unclear.

As always, we’ll keep you up to date with developments as they occur.  

HRD Appears To Have Given Up On Banding

Based on the attached memo sent to the police chiefs by HRD, it appears the agency has finally relented and will establish promotional lists from the October 2008 exam in the traditional “whole number” formula.

As the memo goes on to state, HRD will attempt through rulemaking to change the current rule requiring scores in whole numbers.  If the rule is changed, they would then, presumably, band results of the next promotional examinations.

 I know that within seconds of this entry’s going out, we will be asked these questions:  (1) “Will you challenge banding in rulemaking?” and (2) “What is the likelihood of winning such a challenge?”  The answer to Question 1 is simple: we will do what our clients ask us to do.  To stop banding of this exam, our clients Mass. Coalition of Police and Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association jointly retained us.  Whether to contest the issue in rulemaking will be their decision.  As for the likelihood of a successful legal challenge to the rulemaking, I will say only that there are arguments that could be raised on both sides of the issue.

We (my law partner Bryan Decker and myself) again want to thank all of you for your support, but most especially our clients, MCOP and BPPA, without whom HRD would have been able to run roughshod over its own rules and the merit-based system Civil Service is supposed to be.

Download Memo

Superior Court Grants BPPA and MCOP Request for Injunction – Orders HRD to NOT Band Scores on Police Promotional Eligibility Lists

In a thoughtful, well-reasoned 11-page decision issued this morning, Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Bruce Henry ordered the Commonwealth’s Human Resources Division to NOT “band” scores on police promotional eligibility lists. Here’s the full decision. Judge Henry agreed with the arguments advanced by Sandulli Grace Attorneys Alan Shapiro and Bryan Decker that HRD must follow the statutory rule-making process before “banding” scores rather than issue them by “whole numbers.”  The decision does not inhibit HRD’s ability to issue promotional lists as Judge Henry expressly notes HRD can keep issuing lists under the traditional “whole number” format.  This decision represents a significant victory for the merit-based principles that serve as the foundation of the Civil Service system and a victory for the faith that the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, Inc. and Massachusetts Coalition of Police placed in this system.

As you may recall, HRD for decades listed promotional candidates in the order of the exam scores of police officers.  HRDs rules require the agency to rank scores in order of “whole numbers.” In other words, HRD ranked both 88.4 and 88.1 as an 88.  In February, HRD reversed this longstanding practice by announcing it would group scores among ranges, or “bands” of up to seven points as equivalent.  Sandulli Grace, PC, on behalf of BPPA, MCOP, and several individual police officers, filed suit.

Injunctions are rarely granted in Massachusetts.  Courts only can grant them if the plaintiffs have standing to challenge the practice, the plaintiffs seeking the injunction have a likelihood of success, and if an injunction will serve the public interest.  On all points, the Judge sided with our clients.  After summarizing the facts of the case, Judge Henry concluded that plaintiffs have “standing” to challenge HRD’s actions and thereby rejected one of the Civil Service Commission’s major arguments.  In his finding on standing, the Judge favorably cited the plaintiffs’ contention that banding will allow increased favoritism into promotional decisions:

The plaintiffs also contend that the banded scores will expand the candidate pool, thus increasing the potential that promotions will be based on favoritism and bias, rather than merit…  In addition, by creating a promotional system that provides fewer safeguards against favoritism and bias, the Division has potentially violated its duty to the plaintiffs.  Accordingly, I am persuaded that the plaintiffs have standing to maintain an action under G. L. c. 231A to challenge the banded promotional eligibility lists.

 Turning to “likelihood of success,” The Judge again sided with the BPPA and MCOP in concluding that plaintiffs have a “strong likelihood of success” on our claim that HRD violated its statutory obligation to conduct rulemaking prior to banding scores:

The practice of banding scores represents a significant departure from the way scores have been reported in the past.  While the proposed banding will be reported as whole number bands, the scoring is very different than what appears to have been intended by the requirement that scores be reported in whole numbers.  The scoring bands are a significant change in the manner of scoring and establishing the eligibility lists and that change should have been put in place using the procedure established by the Legislature for making a significant change in the rules. G.L. c. 31, §4. (emphasis added).

Turning to the issue of “harm,” the Judge found that an injunction will promote the public interest by upholding the integrity of the Civil Service system:

[A] determination of the issues raised by the plaintiffs will promote the public’s interest in guarding against political considerations, favoritism, and bias in governmental hiring and promotion … and ensuring that the system operates on ‘basic merit principles, as defined in G.L. c. 31, § 1, absent properly documented and supported bases for departing from such principles in particular cases. (citation omitted, emphasis added).

 

With regards to the harm claimed by HRD – that an injunction will delay promotions – the Judge agreed with what we’ve been saying all along – that any delay is caused by HRD.  HRD can let municipalities make promotions TODAY by issuing lists with whole number scores:

While the defendants assert that any delay in the implementation of the new scoring method will impact communities which are attempting to fill vacancies on their police forces, I do not so find.  There is nothing which prevents the HRD from issuing eligibility lists in the same fashion that it has done so for years.

 

Finally, the Judge issued his conclusion and order:

Conclusion

            For these reasons, I find that a preliminary injunction should enter enjoining the defendants from issuing eligibility lists for the promotion of police officers in score bands rather than in the manner in which it has been doing so until a final resolution of this matter on its merits.

 

ORDER

            Until a final resolution of this matter on its merits, the defendants are preliminarily enjoined from issuing eligibility lists for promotions of police officers in score bands rather than in the manner in which such score have been reported up to the time of this proposed change.

 

 

SO WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

            Obviously, this decision affirms of the deeply-held faith that the BPPA and MCOP have long placed in the merit-based principles that form the cornerstone of the Civil Service system.  This faith was tested and ridiculed by the arrogance of HRD and the Civil Service Commission’s refusal to hear the case. 

            It is not 100% clear where this case will go from here.  As HRD has repeatedly stated, it is under a statutory obligation to issue lists within 6 months of the taking of the exam, i.e. by April 20.  We hope that HRD will abide by Judge Henry’s thorough decision and the law and issue those lists in a timely fashion with scores listed and ranked in WHOLE NUMBERS. 

As always, we will keep you posted…