NLRB Rules Employers May Prohibit Use of Work Emails For Union Activities

In a major reversal handed down yesterday, the National Labor Relations Board overruled a 2014 decision to hold that employers may prohibit employees from using their work emails for union activities. The case does not involve firefighters and the National Labor Relations Act does not apply to public employees. However...

7th Circuit Rules on Compensation for Off-Duty Use Of Smartphones

In a long awaited decision the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Chicago in a case where police officers sought compensation for the off-duty use of their smartphones. Sergeant Jeffery Allen claimed he and his fellow officers in the Bureau of Organized Crime were required to use their smartphones to communicate while off-duty, but were not compensated for their time.

Fire Department Email Addresses Versus Email Forwarding

Today’s burning question: From a legal stand point would it be better to use an email forwarding system that sends work emails to firefighters’ personal email addresses or to provide each member with a true email account with log in and server space?

Cellphone Searches and Stipends

Today’s burning question: My fire department gives firefighters a stipend of $125 dollars a year to cover the costs of various text messages they send us and any work related calls we make/receive. Does this give the department the right to search our personal phones? Answer: No, a simple stipend would not – in and of itself – authorize a fire department to “search” someone’s cellphone

The Digital Age Meets the Duty To Act

Today’s burning question: I was in your class at FDIC 2014 on Duty to Act, which was a real eye-opener. We were discussing it in the station today and one of the paramedics mentioned a smartphone app called PulsePoint, that can notify you if someone nearby is having a heart attack. Doesn’t that raise some duty to act questions?

Ohio LODD Suit Ends in Victory for Morning Pride and Motorola

The parents of an Ohio firefighter killed in the line of duty have lost their wrongful death suit against Morning Pride and Motorola. Robin Broxterman, a captain with the Colerain Township Fire Department, and firefighter Brian Schira died on April ...

Palo Alto Pancake Case Raises Question About Alerting Systems

Call it a symptom of the digital age, but Palo Alto Fire Chief Eric Nickel is having to answer some uncomfortable questions about the appropriateness of using a county-wide emergency alerting system to advertise a pancake fundraiser. The community alerting ...

Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone

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