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Light Duty 11-4 § 2 INJURED ON DUTY SITUATIONS Section 111F specifies that eligibility for leave without loss of pay for line of duty injuries terminates when a municipally-designated physician determines that the employee is able to return to work. 7 No obligation exists to notify the union of the employer's requirement that an injured worker submit to a physical by a municipally-designated physician to determine that employee's fitness for duty. In fact, failure to comply with an order to submit to such an examination would constitute insubordination and could provide grounds for termination (if not some lesser form of discipline). It has not yet been decided, but it is possible that such refusal might provide the basis for removing an injured employee from 111F leave status, presumably after notice and an opportunity for a due process hearing. 8 PRACTICE POINTERS The employee's physician has no role under the provisions of § 111F in determining eligibility for leave in the first place, the duration of any IOD leave, or the return of an injured employee to full or light duty status. However, to the extent that the present and prior chiefs have traditionally relied on the opinion of an employee's physician, and where no municipally-designated physician was ever used, the Labor Relations Commission has decided that a unilateral change in this past practice required notice and an opportunity to bargain. 9 While the chief argued that such reliance was not automatic, and that the chief's policy was to assess each case on an individual basis, this was not sufficient to persuade the LRC that no unilateral change was involved. Such an argument failed in the previously discussed Hull case, presumably because the Hearing Officer doubted the explanation and also because there were no instances where the exercise of such discretion resulted in any action by the Chief in denying a request for future sick leave borrowing. Disputes often arise over a sick or injured employee's fitness for return to duty. In the absence of a controlling provision in a collective bargaining agreement, or a past practice to the contrary, a chief should be able to require an individual to produce a note from his or her doctor or a municipally-designated physician clearing the employee to return to duty. To the extent that the chief has not done so previously, notice and an opportunity to bargain may be required, (i.e., if the union challenges the chief's action and/or demands bargaining). In order to avoid confusion when this issue arises while an employee is out on leave, a chief could post a notice and inform the union that he/she may use such procedure if and when the occasion arises. As a practical matter, however, if the chief has not posted such notice and is faced with an issue of how to handle a Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Light Duty 11-5 particular case, rather than engaging in the awkward practice of informing the union that a chief is about to alter a past practice by requiring a doctor's certificate as a precondition to allowing an employee to return from sick or injury leave, the chief could simply issue the order and, if the union protests, rescind the order and then engage in bargaining to agreement or impasse. There would be some delay, obviously. One other drawback might be the employer's inability to point to a union waiver of its bargaining rights should the same situation arise in the future. However, after several such instances, the employer could argue that a past practice no longer exists (or, more properly, that a new past practice has been agreed to by the parties). A dispute between the opinion of an employee's doctor and that of the municipally-designated physician is not uncommon. A chief would be hard-pressed to justify ignoring the report of the municipally-designated physician. Occasionally the terms of a collective bargaining agreement address how such disagreements are handled -- at least where the city or town's doctor pronounces an employee fit to return to duty but the employee's doctor disagrees. If the agreement so provides, a chief should be able to rely on a third impartial doctor's opinion in such a case. In the absence of such a third party resolution procedure (which, especially in the case of § 111F, is not recommended), the Chief's approach should focus on prevention rather than cure wherever possible. Rather than waiting until such a situation arises, a municipal employer should promulgate guidelines for handling such cases. After providing notice and an opportunity to bargain to the affected union(s), and, if requested, bargaining to agreement or impasse, there will be a mechanism in place to handle such conflicting eventualities. One word of caution is in order. Chiefs should be careful not to let an employee's union activities or history of filing complaints, grievances or even lawsuits, influence their decision on how to handle fitness for duty determinations. The Department of Correction was found to have violated § 10(a)(3) of the Law when it refused to allow a Correction Officer to return to work after sick leave, even after he produced a doctor's note clearing him for full duty as the employer had demanded. 10 In that case, the LRC Hearing Officer found that the fact that the employee had filed scores of bizarre grievances was the primary motivation in the Commonwealth's decision to keep the employee on sick leave. Massachusetts Municipal Police Training Committee
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PREFACE Municipal officials and dep
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INTRODUCTION Public safety unions h
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Table of Contents ii § 2 Entry-Lev
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Table of Contents iv § 8 Other Ben
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Management Rights 1-2 management ri
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Management Rights 1-4 organized pub
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Management Rights 1-6 arbitrate a d
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CHAPTER 2 - SCOPE OF ARBITRATION Mu
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Scope of Arbitration 2-3 There are
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Scope of Arbitration 2-5 Northborou
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Scope of Arbitration 2-7 DiSciulo
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Scope of Arbitration 2-9 leniency o
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Scope of Arbitration 2-11 20 Masach
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Subjects of Bargaining 3-2 When a p
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Subjects of Bargaining 3-4 § 2 NON
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Subjects of Bargaining 3-6 each new
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Subjects of Bargaining 3-8 47 Whitm
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CHAPTER 4 - “GOOD FAITH” Both t
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Good Faith 4-3 A. REFUSAL TO NEGOTI
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Good Faith 4-5 When a contract is i
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Good Faith 4-7 assignments an inher
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Good Faith 4-9 A union's obligation
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Good Faith 4-11 employees' terms an
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Good Faith 4-13 3) Contractual Waiv
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Good Faith 4-15 impasse is reached
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Good Faith 4-17 1 Harwich School Co
Page 54 and 55: Good Faith 4-19 59 Commonwealth of
Page 56 and 57: Assignment 5-2 Despite the fact tha
Page 58 and 59: Assignment 5-4 condition of re-issu
Page 60 and 61: CHAPTER 6 - PROMOTIONS The promotio
Page 62 and 63: Promotions 6-3 list is due to expir
Page 64 and 65: CHAPTER 7 - APPOINTMENTS The appoin
Page 66 and 67: Appointments 7-3 providing the unio
Page 68 and 69: Appointments 7-5 entry-level wage o
Page 70 and 71: Appointments 7-7 union requests bar
Page 72 and 73: CHAPTER 8 - BARGAINING UNIT WORK A
Page 74 and 75: Bargaining Unit Work 8-3 private se
Page 76 and 77: Bargaining Unit Work 8-5 § 1 REMED
Page 78 and 79: Bargaining Unit Work 8-7 2) Absence
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Page 82 and 83: Reorganization 9-2 the work is supe
Page 84 and 85: Reorganization 9-4 bargaining unit
Page 86 and 87: Reorganization 9-6 If the union dem
Page 88 and 89: Reorganization 9-8 41 See Commonwea
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Page 96 and 97: Sick and Injury Leave Rules 10-8 Up
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Page 108 and 109: Defibrillators 12-2 they affect gre
Page 110 and 111: CHAPTER 13 - WORKPLACE RULES AND PR
Page 112 and 113: Workplace Rules and Practices 13-3
Page 134 and 135: Changing Schedules 14-2 § 1 CONTRA
Page 136 and 137: Changing Schedules 14-4 legitimate
Page 138 and 139: CHAPTER 15 - MINIMUM STAFFING The n
Page 140 and 141: Minimum Staffing 15-3 that “a min
Page 142 and 143: Minimum Staffing 15-5 1 Chapter 594
Page 144 and 145: Benefits, Compensation and Leaves 1
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Benefits, Compensation and Leaves 1
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Benefits, Compensation and Leaves 1
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Employee Performance 17-2 The emplo
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Employee Performance 17-4 compellin
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Employee Performance 17-6 37 See se
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APPENDIX A-2 SAMPLE NOTICE FORM (OP
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APPENDIX A-4 SAMPLE NOTICE FORM (OP
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APPENDIX A-6 SAMPLE FORM 5 SAMPLE D
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APPENDIX A-8 6. The employee to be
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APPENDIX A-10 CONSENT I agree that
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APPENDIX A-12 to maintai
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