Firefighter's Termination Upheld
An Illinois Appellate Court upheld a city's decision to terminate a city firefighter from the fire department for using his late father's electrician's license to obtain electrical permits for his second job. Chicago Firefighters Union v. City of Chicago, et al.
A city firefighter had a second job working with an electrical contracting business with his father. His father held a city supervising electrician license. After his father died, the firefighter continued to renew and use his father's electrician's license to obtain electrical permits. After a city investigation, he was terminated for violating the fire department code of professional conduct, various city ordinances, the state's identity theft statute, and city personnel rules. He appealed his termination which went to arbitration, and the arbitrator found that he had violated several city ordinances and state law and that the city's termination was justified. He then filed a lawsuit in the circuit court which also upheld his termination.
On appeal to the Illinois Appellate Court, the firefighter argued that the arbitrator's decision was in error because, among other things, the arbitrator exceeded his authority under the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in making a determination as to whether the firefighter violated city ordinances and state law. The Appellate Court disagreed, finding that the arbitrator did have that authority. The Court also rejected the firefighter's argument that a lesser discipline should have been imposed, finding that the CBA authorized termination where just cause exists.
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