Fire Law Blog

Two California EMTs who were terminated after refusing to transport COVID 19 patients last spring because they were not supplied with properly-fitting N95 masks, have filed separate suits claiming wrongful termination, gender discrimination, retaliation, and violation of California Labor code.

The City of Little Falls, Minnesota has agreed to settle a pregnancy-maternity discrimination suit filed by an on-call firefighter for $50,000. Lisa Lintner filed suit June 30, 2020 claiming that the city’s refusal to award her pension service credit for 2018 due to her maternity-related leave violates the state’s Pregnancy and Parental Leave Act

The dismissal of a lawsuit brought against two ranking chief officers of the Houston Fire Department by a district chief over a social media post has been upheld by the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. District Chief Steven Dunbar filed the federal court action pro se after he was suspended and transferred for a social media post.

Is the failure to comply with a policy evidence of negligence or proof that commanders had discretion? A lawsuit filed against the Bureau of Land Management over its handling of the "Patch Springs Fire" in Utah in 2013, has been dismissed because fireground commanders were exercising discretion.

A Kentucky truck driver has filed suit in Kentucky against an Arizona fire department, an Arizona truck stop, an Arizona hospital and a bank over an incident that occurred in Tolleson, Arizona on June 24, 2020. lshimwe Grace filed suit today naming the Tolleson Fire Department, Loves Truck Stop, Abrazo West Campus, and PNC bank.

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has refused to enjoin FDNY and the New York City Department of Buildings from enforcing New York Multiple Dwelling Law § 121, commonly referred to as the "AirBNB Law." The law restricts property owners from advertising the use of a “Class A Multiple Dwelling” for non-permanent (transient) residential purposes.

Today’s Burning Question: Our volunteer fire department has our own Facebook page and the fire-police have a page they created on their own. Please correct me if I am wrong, but doesn’t the Facebook page belong to the creators, not the fire department? In other words, the fire department cannot make the fire-police get rid of the page, can they?

In this episode, Curt and Attorney Kali Henderson discuss the suit she just filed on behalf of four Southfield firefighters who were disciplined by the Michigan Department of Health and Oakland County after a patient was declared dead, released to a funeral home, and found to be alive hours later by funeral home staff preparing to embalm her.

Sometimes the best defense is a good offense. That would appear to be the tact taken by four Southfield firefighters whose EMS licenses were suspended by the state following an incident last month where a patient who was declared dead, was found to be alive hours later by funeral home staff.

In this edition of Fire law Vlog, Curt and Bill Maccarone discuss the upcoming webinar on firefighter overtime and compensation, FLSA for Fire Departments. The US Department of Labor has made several important changes to wage and hour law over the past few months that will inevitably impact fire departments.

The City of Lyndhurst, Ohio has prevailed in a lawsuit brought by an immigrant couple who were ordered by police and firefighters to stop cooking outside because the smoke was bothering their neighbors. Emad Alabasi and Yana Alabasi filed suit last October claiming national origin discrimination and various civil rights violations.

A military discrimination lawsuit filed by an assistant chief with the Montgomery Fire Department, has been dismissed. Assistant Chief Ted Clark filed suit last year accusing the city of denying him a promotion, denying him family medical leave, and retaliating against him on account of his military service with the Alabama Army National Guard.

An executive assistant who was fired last year by an Oregon fire district has filed suit claiming she was the victim of retaliation for exercising her 1st Amendment Rights and whistleblowing. Linda Hedlund filed suit last week against the Banks Fire District 13 and Fire Chief Rodney Linz.

A Delaware firefighter who was expelled from his fire company in July over a social media meme, is now facing criminal hate crime charges. Michael D. Cook, 55, a member of the Cranston Heights Fire Company, has been charged with two counts of committing a hate crime, and three counts of harassment

A former District Chief with the Montgomery Fire Department who agreed to retire in 2010 as part of the settlement of a gender discrimination suit, has lost a second suit she filed in 2018 claiming that the fire chief made derogatory comments about her. District Chief Jennifer Jennings Bennett first sued the city in 2008.

Ten Jacksonville firefighters who were injured in a ship fire in June have filed suit against six entities that they claim are responsible for their injuries. The injured firefighters were caught in an explosion aboard the cargo ship Hoegh Xiamen.

A deputy chief in Mount Vernon, NY who was suspended last September has filed suit claiming his due process rights were violated. Deputy Chief Al-Farid Salahuddin was suspended after a profanity-laden audio recording of him speaking with a fire lieutenant surfaced.

It didn’t take long for the public to express outrage over the fact that a ladder company on Long Island was driving around displaying a large Confederate Flag earlier today. It also didn’t take long for the fire department to take immediate action to address the situation.

The licenses of two Michigan paramedics have been suspended by the state Department of Health and Human Services pending an investigation into how a patient was declared dead, released to a funeral home, and found to be alive hours later by funeral home staff preparing to embalm her.

Tampa Firefighters, IAFF Local 754, filed suit last week to confirm an arbitration award ordering the reinstatement of a firefighter who was terminated last year. The firefighter was terminated following his arrest on charges of solicitation. He was off-duty at the time, but in uniform.