Nolan & Perroni in recent News Media

Peter Perroni was recently captured in living color on the front page of the Concord Monitor, which paper ran a large story covering Peter's defense of NEPBA's local Union President from Franklin NH. Take a look here.

In other news, Gary Nolan was sought out this week by Massachusetts' biggest legal newpaper, Mass. Lawyers Weekly, for his opinion of a significant ruling by the U.S. Federal Court of Appeals. Read Gary's comments here.

For those of you who missed Peter's Interview on WBZ TV, giving his opinion on the recent rise in labor strikes, you can view it here.

VIDEOS: Mass. SJC hears oral arguments on two cases expected to have big impact on Brady Disclosures

In 2023, two significant cases were argued before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court that will significantly impact prosecutors' obligations to disclose so-called Brady evidence, specifically obligations relating to alleged police misconduct. Both cases come out of Hampden County and involve District Attorneys' alleged failures to produce/inquire about police misconduct evidence. The McFarlane appeals court case - decided in February 2023 - has created as many questions as answers. Among the issues are the extent of a DA's duty to inquire of the police, whether civil lawsuit allegations must be disclosed, the impact of POST's public database on this issue, and the responsiblity of officers to respond to inquiries.

As we know, following the earlier stages of these recent cases, many DA's offices issued new policies and questionairres impacting police witnesses. Now that the appeals have been argued to the SJC (in September), we can expect significant guidance from the Court in the near future.

If you would like to watch the oral arguments before the Court, click the links below. They're each around an hour.

Click here to watch SJC Argument - McFarlane Case

Click here to watch SJC Argument - Hampden County DA Case

HOW TO FILE OBJECTIONS TO P.O.S.T. DISCIPLINE WEBSITE

In conjuntion with the NEPBA, we have put out the attached Memorandum of Instuctions with regard to the recent discipline publication by POST. We have seen many reporting errors already - inclusion of discipline that was vacated, overturned, and not reportable, etc. There are specific rules and procedures to follow to request removal, and there are other measures that can be taken to find out what information was supplied to POST by your local department / agency. In some cases, it seems clear that incomplete, incorrect, or unreportable information was provided.

Attached is a comprehensive memorandum with specific information about the objection process, including steps to be taken along the way by individuals and local unions, and important links and contact information. It's long, but if you are impacted, be sure to take the time to go through it and gather / request the relevant documents that can help improve the situation for you or others. Also attached is the applicable CMR with certain sections hightlighted, as discussed in the memo.

Nolan | Perroni Memorandum of Instructions

CMR Applicable to POST Database Publication

Appeals Court Strikes down "Cadet Rate of Pay": Police Academy Students must be Paid the same as Regular Police Officer

This summer, the Massachusetts Appeals Court ruled that the Town of Brewster's "cadet rate" for police academy students was illegal, and violated the state's Wage Act. This is important for many communities who have attempted to implement a lower rate of pay for student or cadet officers, as such rules could now impose significant liablity (i.e. triple damages and attorneys fees) for such wage structures.

The appeals court case is: Daniel LANCTOT & others 1 v. TOWN OF BREWSTER.. No. 22-P-259, Decided: June 22, 2023. Among the court's findings, it held that:

"Brewster's bylaw creating a “cadet” position (with a discretionary rate of pay) conflicts with the plain language of the statute creating a “student officer” position (with a police officer rate of pay). G. L. c. 41, § 96B. “[A] municipality may not enact a bylaw, policy, or regulation that is inconsistent with State law.” Cioch v. Treasurer of Ludlow, 449 Mass. 690, 699, 871 N.E.2d 469 (2007). See G. L. c. 147, § 21A (establishing process for appointing “police cadets”). Thus, the plain language of G. L. c. 41, § 96B, prohibits precisely the sort of special classification that Brewster has tried to create."

Nolan | Perroni wins Arbitration for NEPBA Norfolk Supervisors - Eliminates Individual Bargain

N|P partner Gary Nolan recently won an important arbitration victory on behalf of NEPBA Local 570, which represents the Norfolk County Correctional Supervisor’s Union.

In order to ensure that certain individuals do not receive special compensation not otherwise available to all superior officers, the union and the Sheriff agreed to phase out so-called out-of-rank pay for certain appointed assignments. When the union discovered that a particular officer continued to receive special, non-contractual compensation, it challenged the practice through the grievance process. After a series of denials by the employer, N|P and NEPBA took the matter to arbitration.

The Arbitrator ruled that the Sheriff's Office violated multiple CBA provisions as it was paying the selected employee at an increased rate of pay which was never posted and never made known to other union members. In rejecting all of the Sheriff’s legal arguments, the arbitrator found that the decision to pay the appointed lobby officer the special rate of pay violated the parties agreement that all such officers by paid “their rank pay and not a higher rate of pay.”

The NEPBA and its Local brought this important case to ensure that individual bargains that violate the union’s contract are eliminated, as such side-deals negatively impact the union’s ability to protect and improve wages and benefits for the group as a whole.

Click here to read the Full Decision