A member of the Massachusetts Coalition of Police, the largest police union in the Commonwealth, is back on the job after his union fought for his termination to be overturned. Jeffrey Maligno, a police officer in the Town of Plympton, MA, was accused by his employer of violating the town’s sexual harassment policy when he discussed rumors of a sexual nature with an officer from another department on a paid detail. The rumors – which were unsubstantiated – involved two other Plympton town employees.

After a hearing before the Town’s Select Board, the Town terminated Officer Maligno’s employment on December 19, 2022. Maligno and his union, the Plympton Police Association, MassCOP Local 276, immediately filed a grievance under the collective bargaining agreement between the Town and the Union. That agreement states that any discipline, including discharge, must be supported by just cause. The grievance eventually went before a third-party arbitrator chosen by the Town and the Union, who was given the power to decide the matter. At the arbitration, the Union was represented by Attorney Jennifer Smith of Sandulli Grace, P.C., assisted by Lekzi Nessmith, J.D. After conducting three days of hearing, listening to testimony from all the relevant witnesses, and reviewing all relevant documents, Arbitrator Loconto determined that the Town did not have just cause to fire Maligno in an award issued August 7, 2023. Specifically, Loconto found that the Town failed to prove that Maligno violated the sexual harassment policy. He also found that the rumors Maligno discussed were widespread in both Plympton and neighboring towns, and that the police department was aware of them and did nothing to stop their spread. Loconto went on to find that Maligno’s behavior constituted conduct unbecoming an officer but was not so serious as to warrant discharge. Instead, Loconto reduced the discipline to a 10-day unpaid suspension.

Instead of accepting the arbitrator’s award, the Town filed a petition to vacate the award in the Suffolk County Superior Court. The Town argued that the arbitrator’s award violated a public policy against sexual harassment. The Union, in response, filed a counterclaim asking the court to confirm the arbitrator’s award. On appeal, the Union was represented by Sandulli Grace Attorney John M. Becker. In a decision issued on June 7, 2024, Superior Court Judge Robert B. Gordon rejected the Town’s arguments. Judge Gordon examined the case using the three-pronged public policy test set out in Massachusetts appellate decisions. First, he found that Maligno did not violate any well-defined and important public policy. The judge noted that he was bound by the arbitrator’s finding that Maligno did not violate the sexual harassment policy, and the town did not point to any other public policy that was violated. Second, he found that Maligno’s conduct – spreading a piece of gossip about two Town employees in a single conversation with another police officer – was not “integral to the performance of his employment duties.” Third, he found no requirement that the offense – conduct unbecoming an officer – required termination. Instead, Judge Gordon found that the parties had given the arbitrator the power to determine the proper penalty, and there was no evidence that a 10-day unpaid suspension was insufficient.

Following the Superior Court’s decision, the Town reinstated Officer Maligno to his former position with back pay and benefits, less 10 days without pay.