In a significant rebuke to the Civil Service Commission, a
Judge of the Superior Court reversed the termination of a police officer fired
by the Town of West Bridgewater for lying because the Commission failed to
consider the issue of favoritism raised by the terminated officer. Read the Superior Court decision here. The decision
is significant because it means that even though the officer’s conduct on its
own may have warranted termination, the Commission was required to consider
whether the Town exhibited favoritism in how it treated this officer’s
misconduct compared to how it treated other officers who committed similar
misconduct. This is referred to as an
employee’s right to equity and uniformity in discipline, and this is a right
that a court can enforce if the Commission fails to.
The Superior Court’s decision confirms that well-established
rule that, along with the power to independently find facts, the Commission has
the power to modify a discipline. That means that even if the Commission
decides that an employee’s conduct warrants discipline, the Commission is not
required to rubber stamp the discipline issued; it has the power to change it
or reduce it. One of the most common reasons that the Commission modifies a
discipline is because the appointing authority failed to treat similarly
situated individuals with similar discipline.
In Desmond v. West
Bridgewater, the Commission found that Officer Desmond exhibited a pattern
of untruthfulness and upheld the Town’s decision to terminate. You can read the underlying Commission decision here. However, on
appeal the Superior Court overturned the termination and ordered the Commission
to look at the matter again. The Superior Court pointed out that Desmond
presented evidence that another officer had lied, and in circumstances “much
worse” than Desmond’s. Although the
Superior Court affirmed that Desmond should be disciplined, the Court held that
the lack of uniformity between similarly situated individuals required the
termination be vacated. The Court recognized that a lack of uniformity could
indicate favoritism and bias, which violates civil service law. If you have
been disciplined more harshly than others in your situation, you may be able to
get your discipline reduced by appealing to the Civil Service Commission. But
you have to act quickly: within ten days of the final disciplinary letter. For
more information, contact our office.
