Summary

CFFA voiced their concerns after investigating the hiring of an Assistant Fire Marshal Chief Geer hired. CFFA questioned the Fire marshal's qualifications and whether the hire was a good one, since this person had already retired from a neighboring department on a disability pension.

The Assistant Fire Marshal threatened CFAA members with a lawsuit, backed up by Chief Geer's boast of getting a "seven figure" settlement from the CFFA.

This ULP was initially filed on its own and then combined with ULP#1.

Verdict

A threat by a supervisor against a subordinate in retaliation for engaging in protected activity is an Unlawful Labor Practice. Therefore, the City of Clearwater was ordered to:

1. Cease and desist from threatening employees with adverse employment actions and lawsuits for engaging in protected concerted activity.

2. Cease and desist from interfering with, restraining, or coercing public employees in the excersise of any right to guaranteed to them.

3. Pay CFFA reasonable attorney fees and associated costs of litigation.

4. Immediately post notices recognizing the three previous items so all CFFA members are aware of the ruling.

ULP 1 and ULP 2 costs were combined, with a total cost to tax payers of $30,000. *

*These costs do not include additional fees billed to the city by their attorneys Thompson, Sizemore, and Gonzalez, which equated to an additional $46,382.91 for all 6 ULPs combined.

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