Partner Richard Betheil Successfully Represents NYC’s Uniformed Fire Officers Association in Case About Aging FDNY Trucks
Partner Richard Betheil, a member of Pryor Cashman’s Labor & Employment Group, successfully represented the Uniformed Fire Officers Association (UFOA) in Hagan v. City of New York, a case pending in New York County Supreme Court.
In Hagan, Justice Kathryn Freed upheld Arbitrator Alan Viani’s decision that the New York City Fire Department must abide by the replacement policy stipulated in the collective bargaining agreement with Local 854 of the UFOA.
The replacement policy states that the city must remove fire trucks and other vehicles from front-line duty before they turn 11 years old. The city argued that the policy was adverse to its goal of providing adequate fire protection to NYC residents, maintaining that strict enforcement of the contract provisions would put 13 of 350 fire engines and other emergency firefighting vehicles operated by the FDNY out of use, thus endangering the lives of residents and FDNY personnel.
Justice Freed disagreed with the city and held that Viani's interpretation of the contract language on retiring older fire trucks "does not contravene, but actually promotes public policy, by helping maintain the safety of the public as well as firefighters by insuring that out-of-date vehicles and equipment will be replaced by state-of-the-art, sound equipment."
The UFOA represents 2,500 chief officers, lieutenants and captains as well as supervising fire marshals and medical officers.
The case was the topic of the New York Law Journal article “Judge Upholds Arbitrator's Order to Replace Aging FDNY Trucks.” To read the article, please click here.
