The commission found no issue in the City of Pittsfield’s termination of a Water and Sewer employee after he took an unauthorized leave when he had already exhausted all of his accrued leave and was denied additional time off. The employee also neglected to maintain various licenses required by law for his position.
The Commission modified the discharge of a Pittsfield Highway Maintenance Craftsman for his inability to lift 50 pounds due to a back injury as well as his use of anti-anxiety medication while on duty. The Commission gave the City 60 days to conduct a comprehensive fitness for duty evaluation.
The Commission dismissed the appeal of a five-day suspension from a West Springfield Police Captain, on the grounds that the appeal did not include the filing fee and was late when it was mailed to HRD, not to the Commission.
The Commission concluded it did have jurisdiction to hear the appeal of a Dracut Housing Authority employee who was demoted. The Commission interpreted the term “involuntary separation” in provisions that covered housing authorities at G.L. c. 121B, §29 to also include demotions.
The Commission affirmed the discharge of a Worcester Housing Authority custodian who had an extensive disciplinary history and a propensity to lose master keys and access cards. The Custodian’s repeated failure to secure master keys jeopardized the security of hundreds of apartments.
The Commission voided the 4-day tour of duty suspension handed down to a Caucasian Charlestown firefighter after he made racially insensitive remarks. The Commission found the firefighter was singled out for discipline where a superior lieutenant and other firefighters also contributed a hostile working environment.
The Commission dismissed the appeal of a Boston police officer who was seeking to void her resignation, on the grounds that it was coerced. It was dismissed due to a lack of timeliness as she failed to file within ten days of being on full notice of the claim she had been bringing forth and was fully able to do so.
The Commission rejected a Springfield police officer’s appeal after finding that the police officer was not a tenured employee, given that he had been discharged within his probationary period.
Due to a remand from the Appeals Court that vacated the Commission’s decision to alter a discharge decision of a New Bedford Airport worker, the Commission found a discrepancy between its statement of facts and final ruling in the original decision regarding the Appellant’s previous discipline.
