New POBR Case Protects Whistle Blowers in Law Enforcement
A new case came down today from the 4th Appellate District, Jaramillo v. County of Orange, which establishes that POBR waivers are not enforceable for any Law Enforcement officer, even executive staff. This case, factually, exposes extreme corruption in the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. The Appellate Court made every attempt ...Read More
Response to Adverse Comments in Personnel File
Response to Adverse Comments in Personnel File Disciplinary action can take many forms when it comes to public safety employees. Sometimes it is not as heavy as a suspension without pay or a demotion. Often correction may come in the form of a counseling memo or a “documentation of verbal ...Read More
Removal from Specialty Pay Assignments
Many public safety employers have jobs that are “special assignments” and often require additional training or skills from the employee. To “reward” these extra demands, they will generally also be accompanied by a pay incentive which is generally around 5%. Most employees feel that being assigned to such positions is a ...Read More
Knowing Your Rights Under the LRMDA and NLRA
Knowing Your Rights Under the LRMDA and NLRA Staying compliant with the complex and numerous federal statutory schemes that govern unions and their members is a daunting but important union duty. A union accused of discriminating against a union member, whether that be in an election or with regard to ...Read More
Know your Audience: a Key to Skelly Success
Recently Sgt. Butler* received word that his rank as a correctional sergeant was being taken away and he was to be demoted to a correctional officer position. As anyone who has attained a supervisory rank knows, getting your stripes is generally a product of years of hard work. Not only ...Read More
Your day in Court. Maybe.
Written by Joy C. Rosenquist, Esq. Jury trials are at the very foundation of American democracy. However, for every 100 cases that are filed in court, statistics say that only about 5 of them will ever make it to a jury trial. Why is this? There are a few ...Read More
Who Is Watching the Watchdog?
Not the Courts. On the night of April 9, 2007, a Lieutenant received a phone call at home from his employer, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (“CDCR”), informing him that he would be interrogated the very next morning by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), an agency ...Read More
Officer’s Excessive Force Reinstated with Full Seniority
On August 24, 2008, Correctional Officer Jorge Garcia was working a shift in a rover position assisting officers wherever needed for the San Joaquin County Jail. Suddenly, he received a radio transmission from a partner requesting assistance in Unit 4, a tense and dangerous unit reserved for discipline problems. As ...Read More