KCMO Challenges Arbitration Award in Triple Fatal Crash

The City of Kansas City is appealing an arbitration decision that reduced the disciplinary penalty for the firefighter responsible for the 2021 triple-fatal apparatus crash to a three-day suspension without pay. Dominic Biscari was driving Kansas City’s Pumper 19, when it ran a red light, collided with an SUV, struck several parked cars, came to rest in a building, and in the process killed three people.

Last year Biscari pled guilty today to three counts of involuntary manslaughter. He also agreed that he owed $32 million to the victims of the crash. The current case involves the resolution of a grievance over Biscardi’s suspension in 2021 while the criminal case was pending. As explained in the city’s Motion to Vacate the arbitration award [Note: The motion refers to Biscari as Firefighter”]:

• Because Firefighter was charged with vehicular manslaughter, the decision was made that Firefighter should be suspended pending the outcome of such charges.
• Firefighter was sent notice from Fire Chief that effective immediately, Firefighter was suspended from employment pursuant to City Code of Ordinances.
• Firefighter was further told that such suspension would remain in effect until his case was adjudicated by the court.
• Importantly, Firefighter was never terminated; he is still employed by the City. The fact that he caused the December 15, 2021, fatality accident has not resulted in discipline as Grievance #3-23 which was the subject of the arbitration, was filed before any factfinding in the fatality accident could occur.
• On March 7, 2023, Local 42 filed its Grievance alleging Firefighter’s suspension violated provisions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the City and Local 42.
• In sum, the Grievance makes it very clear that the issue – the only issue – being grieved was the suspension without pay pending adjudication.
• On March 27, 2024, the arbitrator issued his Opinion and Award and made a finding for Local 42 and against the City.
• Rather than limit his Opinion and Award to the issue presented to him – whether there was just cause for the suspension pending adjudication and Firefighter had been afforded due process – the arbitrator issued discipline on the underlying fatality accident: that Firefighter only be suspended for three days and that most references to the underlying fatality accident be removed from his personnel file.
• He did so without any explanation of how he arrived at a three-day suspension, but it amounted to one day for each death and one day for each million dollars that Firefighter’s fatality accident cost the City.
• The City acknowledges that review of an arbitration award is narrowly circumscribed, but this “does not grant carte blanche approval to any decision an arbitrator might make.”
• Here, the arbitrator clearly did not “stay within the bounds of his authority;” instead, he exceeded the powers granted to him by the parties. As such, the award must be vacated.

Here is a copy of the Motion to Vacate.