Chesterton Fire
Department Local 4600 of the International Association of Fire Fighters has
filed a six-count lawsuit in federal court against the Town of Chesterton,
alleging--among other things--that for nine years the town failed to
compensate firefighters appropriately for overtime and that the town failed
to negotiate Local 4600’s 2019 contract “in good faith.”
The suit was filed
on Saturday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana
by Local 4600’s attorney, Angela Jones.
The suit
specifically asserts the following:
* That in the
relevant period--from at least 2011 to Jan. 1, 2019--the town did not pay
firefighters the time and a half to which they were entitled under the Fair
Labor Standards Act.
* That the town
violated state law when it “refused to meet and confer in good faith” with
Local 4600, after the union requested a meet-and-confer in writing on Nov.
27, 2018.
* That the town
breached contract with Local 4600 when CFD policy pertaining to Kelly
days--otherwise known as reduction days--was “unilaterally changed to
greatly inhibit and restrict firefighters’ ability to use” those four annual
days. A Kelly day is a paid day off provided to firefighters to reduce a
department’s overtime liability. Traditionally, under CFD policy,
firefighters have been able to use those four days “the same as their
vacation time or as needed,” according to the suit.
* That the town
“acted with malice, fraud, gross negligence, and/or oppressiveness” when it
broke a “promise” made to firefighters on their hiring that they could use
their Kelly days “as vacation days or on an as-needed basis as an additional
incentive to the employment.”
* That the town
committed “fraud and fraudulent inducement” when it “misrepresented material
facts,” namely, that the 2019 agreement and department policy would remain
the same as prior years with respect to the usage” of Kelly days.
* And that the town
committed “constructive fraud” by “taking unconscionable advantage of (its)
dominant position over” Local 4600.
Local 4600 is
seeking compensatory damages, an equal amount of liquidated damages, and
attorney’s fees.
Associate Town
Attorney Chuck Parkinson, for his part, told the Chesterton Tribune
this morning that the town on its own, early last year, discovered the
mistake in overtime payments, corrected it, and has compensated firefighters
accordingly. Meanwhile, he said that the suit itself is meritless.
“Town of Chesterton
has paid the firefighters in accordance with the law,” Parkinson said. “On
its own initiative, the town conducted a payroll audit and voluntarily
corrected the payroll error. The payments to the firefighters exceed the
town’s legal obligation. In addition, the firefighters continue to enjoy
benefits not received by any other Chesterton employees. Despite this, the
firefighters have filed suit against the town because they don’t like the
way they are required to follow department rules on scheduling their
generous time off. This lawsuit has no legal merit and the town is confident
that it will be exposed as a groundless attempt to intimidate the town.”