First Amendment

The US District Court for the Southern District of Georgia has refused to remand a former division chief’s whistleblower lawsuit back to state court. EMS Division Chief Summer Patterson filed suit against Bryan County Fire & Emergency Services and Fire Chief Freddy Howell claiming she was retaliated against and forced to resign after voicing her objection to the chief’s disciplinary decision making.

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In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for March 11, 2024, Curt discusses a disciplinary investigation into firefighters who booed an elected official at a promotional ceremony; the dismissal of two Michigan fire departments from a lawsuit brought by a ...

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An FDNY promotional ceremony last Thursday has turned into a politically oriented disciplinary spectacle after attendees booed New York Attorney General Letitia James and chanted “Trump”. Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh has ordered an investigation into the incident and apparently want the offenders to be “educated why their behavior is unacceptable.”

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An Iowa fire department that has hosted a nativity scene during the holidays for the past fifteen years, has found itself at the center of a First Amendment controversy about the separation between church and state. The Freedom From Religion Foundation requested the Mayor and City Council of the City of Toledo to remove a nativity scene from the front of the Toledo Fire Department’s station.

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In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for November 13, 2023, Brad and Curt discuss an investigation report into financial problems with fire companies in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana who are accused of misusing $8.5 million in taxpayer funds; the filing ...

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The ongoing saga of Boston firefighter Octavius Rowe suffered another setback as the Massachusetts Court of Appeals upheld his 2018 termination for making a series of racist and homophobic social media posts. Rowe, who served as vice president of Boston’s Vulcan Society, claimed he had been singled out for discipline for his posts while the city ignored comparably offensive posts by white firefighters.

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The initiation of a disciplinary investigation into social media posts by IAFF union officials in Tiverton, Rhode Island, has prompted a federal lawsuit accusing the town of wrongfully chilling the exercise of the firefighters’ First Amendment free speech rights.

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A lawsuit filed by a Los Angeles County fire captain caught up in the photo-taking scandal surrounding the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash, has been dismissed. Captain Brian Jordan sued the county to recoup the legal fees he incurred defending his actions when he was sued by the families of those killed in the crash.

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The Columbia River Fire & Rescue is facing a $20 million lawsuit filed by recently fired Fire Chief Joel Medina. The suit filed in US District Court for the District of Oregon names the fire district, four members of the fire district board, IAFF Local 3215 St. Helen’s Professional Fire Fighters Association, and several current and former officers of Local 3215.

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The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the City of Stockton fired former Fire Chief Ronald Hittle in 2011 for legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons, and that the chief was unable to show these reasons were pretextual excuses to justify religious discrimination.

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An Arizona firefighter who was terminated last November, has filed suit claiming the city’s stated reason for firing him was a pretext to retaliate against him for his union activities. Shannon Glynn filed suit against the City of El Mirage and its fire chief alleging violations of the Arizona Employment Protection Act, the Arizona Public Safety Employees Act, the FLSA, and his Constitutional rights.

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An elected official has filed suit against a Connecticut fire district claiming district officials have violated her First Amendment rights by prohibiting her from speaking at district board meetings. Christine Wakefield filed suit against the Dayville Fire District today in US District Court for the District of Connecticut.

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A Nashville firefighter who was disciplined over a social media post is poised to accept a $450,000 settlement from the city. Josh Lipscomb, who besides being a firefighter is a comedian that goes by the stage name of Josh Black, was suspended for fourteen days for the Twitter post he made in February, 2022.

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In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for November 28, 2022, Brad and Curt discuss a federal court ruling that two believed-to-be volunteer firefighters who received shift stipends and point-based bonuses were actually employees entitled to minimum wage and overtime ...

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