2022 - Fall River Firefighters Association, Local 1314 vs. The City of Fall River

In 2022, Attorney Barrault secured an unprecedented arbitration decision for the Fall River Firefighters Union in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. The decision affirmed that a Public Safety Chief’s authority during a state of emergency does not give him or her the right to override collectively bargained terms and conditions. There has long been a misconception in labor law that a Fire Chief has broad management rights during a state of emergency which grants him or her the authority to override collectively bargained terms and conditions. The Fall River Fire Chief, relying on this misconception, tested the parameters of his authority during the COVID-19 pandemic when he temporarily involuntarily assigned a firefighter to work in the Fall River EMS Department, a different City bargaining unit covered by a different collective bargaining agreement. The Arbitrator found that such assignment violated the contract.

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2022 - Massport Firefighters Local S-2 vs. Massachusetts Port Authority

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2021 - Andrew Nardone vs. Mayor Ted Bettencourt, City of Peabody