Tag Archives: smartphone

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.

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A federal court in Chicago handed down an important ruling on overtime in the digital age earlier this month. While the case involved the off-duty use of a smartphone by a Chicago police officer, the facts could apply to virtually any profession including firefighters.

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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

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A Texas firefighter has been indicted on charges that he used his smartphone camera to secretly take photos in a fire station bathroom. Last Thursday, a Walker County grand jury returned a true bill against Christopher Alexander Clark, 31, on ...

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