Judge tosses former firefighter's shift swap lawsuit

FAYETTEVILLE -- A federal judge threw out a lawsuit today a former Springdale firefighter filed against the city and his bosses claiming he was forced to quit after he was retaliated against and ostracized for taking time off to care for his dying stepson.

Eric Andersen claimed the city; Chief Mike Irwin; retired Assistant Chief Kevin McDonald; and Assistant Chief Ron Skelton violated the federal Family and Medical Leave Act.

Legal lingo

Constructive discharge

Generally occurs when working conditions are so intolerable as to amount to a firing, despite a lack of a formal termination notice. Since the resignation was not truly voluntary, it is, in effect, a termination. For example, when an employer places extraordinary and unreasonable work demands on an employee to obtain their resignation, this can constitute a constructive dismissal.

Source: Staff report

U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks dismissed the case for failure to state a valid claim. Brooks dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning Andersen could refile the case.

At a recent hearing, Brooks questioned whether anything that happened resulted in Andersen not being able to do his job.

"You want an injunction to make all Springdale firefighters get along?" Brooks asked.

In his order Monday, Brooks rejected Andersen's claim of constructive discharge.

"Mr. Andersen does not allege that his difficulty obtaining shift-swaps interfered with his ability to do his job, nor does he provide allegations from which this court could infer that it did so," Brooks wrote in his order. "For example, the proposed amended complaint does not allege that his difficulty obtaining shift-swaps prevented him from coming to work or from performing any particular work-related tasks competently."

The suit contended Andersen's stepson was diagnosed in June 2014 with a cancerous brain tumor. By 2016 his condition began to worsen, and Anderson requested leave intermittently. Andersen began trading shifts with other firefighters to better care for his child, attend training and make up shift hours, according to the lawsuit.

Andersen continued to take time off and swap shifts in 2016 and 2017 when his son was in out-of-state hospitals, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit contended administrators decided Andersen's time off was unacceptable. He was denied permission to trade shifts, and administrators began to retaliate against him and bully him, according to the lawsuit.

Andersen claims changes in the shift-trading policy in June 2017 were a direct attack on him for taking time off. He contended the policy change angered co-workers, who began to ostracize him. Andersen's son died in August 2017.

"Since the announcement of the policy, Eric has been treated with such contempt that his continued employment was intolerable, and he was forced to find work elsewhere," according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Fayetteville, sought damages, including back pay and front pay for retaliation and an order enjoining Springdale officials from violating terms of the Family and Medical Leave Act.

The federal law guarantees eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid leave for specified family and medical reasons.

NW News on 08/21/2018

Upcoming Events