Bill of rights tests fire chief’s powers
An interesting one from Oceanside, California. Chief Terry Garrison is frustrated. Two veterans with desk jobs, demoted and sent to the field, have been re-promoted. A battalion chief who was promoted to replace one of those demoted, has been un-promoted. There is the potential for lawsuits from the various parties. All of this because of California’s firefighters’ bill of rights that took effect January 1.
Here are excerpts from the North County Times, but it is well worth reading the entire article:
Nearly a year into the job, Oceanside fire Chief Terry Garrison decided in mid-May to reassign five of his top managers.
Saying the changes would strengthen department operations, he moved two department veterans, Mike Margot and Mark Alderson, from their desk jobs to lower-paying jobs in the field.
He reassigned another manager who had been in charge of training to take Alderson’s place as budget and communications chief. The remaining two veterans moved to administrative details, leading training and fire prevention.
The reassignments, effective May 12, lasted just 10 days.
Only May 22, Garrison rescinded the assignments in response to a threatened legal challenge from Margot and Alderson, who warned that the changes were tantamount to demotions and therefore illegal under a new California firefighters’ bill of rights.
The law requires an administrative hearing before a firefighter can be demoted or punished in a way that would diminish wages or benefits.
In the wake of the failed reorganization, questions remain about whether the chief opened the city to lawsuits and whether, under the new law, he has any real power to reassign supervisors. It’s also unclear how much ill-will the short-lived changes created in the department.
With city leaders in Oceanside debating the implications of the new law, it is unclear whether Garrison can ever reassign administrators to the field.
Garrison, who took over as Oceanside chief in June 2007 after 30 years with the Phoenix Fire Department, said he remains frustrated.
“It could hamper what I want to accomplish in the organization,” he said. “As a manager, can you imagine not being able to move your people?”
Brian Kammerer, the city’s personnel director, said the new law does not prevent the chief from making staff changes. Rather, he said, it establishes a new process that requires the chief to tell a firefighter why he is making a proposed change and gives the firefighter a chance to challenge the change.
If the chief still decides to make the change, the firefighter can appeal the decision to the city manager, who has the final say.
“It’s just another process to assure we’re being fair and equitable across the board,” Kammerer said.
On May 20, Alderson and Margot sent identical letters through a lawyer demanding a hearing on the reassignments, calling them “punitive actions,” as defined by the new law. The letter cited the law’s order that:
The firefighters demanded the city follow the law and grant the appeal.
If the department failed to comply with the law, the Firefighters Bill of Rights allowed them each to sue for up to $25,000 in civil penalties, lawyer fees and emotional distress, the letters pointed out.
The law, similar to one in place for peace officers since the 1980s, was designed to make sure firefighters are treated fairly when facing investigations, interrogations or a demotion.
According to its Web site, the 30,000-strong California Professional Firefighters association had been trying to get a version of the law passed for over 20 years, arguing that, like peace officers, firefighters make split-second decisions in stressful situations that leave them subject to internal investigation.
On May 22, two days after Alderson and Margot’s letter arrived, Garrison announced he was reversing the reassignments.
City Manager Peter Weiss said it was unclear if the reassignments had violated the law.
“It was the most prudent action just to put people back until we figure it out,” he said.
Until the law has been tested in court, he said, Oceanside and other cities will struggle to understand its implications.
