Illinois Fire Fighters Win Case

April 27, 2007 – The members of Dolton, IL Local 3766 emerged victorious in a legal case against the Village of Dolton after an arbitrator ruled that the Village had hired a fire fighter without proper testing.

The Dolton Professional Fire Fighters Local 3766 agreement with the Village’s Board of Police and Fire Commission requires all fire fighters to take and pass an oral examination, a written examination, a psychological examination and a physical agility test.

However, when the Commission hired Berttron Shaw as assistant fire chief in July 2005, but retroactive to June 3, 2005, as a fire fighter, he became eligible for the fire fighter’s pension plan even though he never went through the required examinations. In response, Local 3766 filed a grievance, which eventually led to arbitration.

The arbitrator ruled that the Village violated the agreement when it hired Shaw as a fire fighter without the required testing. In addition, the arbitrator stated that all future hires must meet the testing requirements.

“This is an important victory for us,” says Dave DuVall, president of Local 3766. “If a precedent had been set here, the Commission could have been able to hire whoever it wanted without testing.

Although Local 3766 is pleased with the ruling, it has incurred substantial legal fees, and is holding a fundraiser May 24, 2007 at the Izaak Walton League to help offset these costs. For more information, contact DuVall at (708) 921-6723 or click here.

Meanwhile, the local is also likely to incur additional legal fees because the Village has hired two more fire fighters without testing them. The arbitrator said the case concerning these two fire fighters could not be considered at the same time as the assistant fire chief’s case because their hires happened after the Shaw case was filed.