Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Arbiter reverses firing

The city is ordered to reinstate paramedic Mike Jones, let go for not going on a 911 call.

By DEMORRIS A. LEE
Published October 31, 2006

CLEARWATER - Fired Clearwater paramedic Mike Jones has said all along that he should have been disciplined for not responding to the 911 call of a woman who frequently called and falsely claimed rape.

But Jones said the city's firing of him was wrong.

A federal arbitrator has agreed with Jones, and on Oct. 16 ordered that the city reinstate and reimburse him for the straight-time wages he lost, minus unemployment and wages he earned since being terminated. The arbitrator also recommended that the city help Jones get his county paramedic's license back.

"Obviously, the city will be better off if it can have him (Jones) recertified as a Paramedic," Arbitrator Richard H. Potter wrote in his decision. "To this end, it is hoped that it will support him in making a case to the State of Florida to retain his State certification and to the County Medical Director to regain his County certifications."

"I'm thankful for the ruling," Jones, 38, said. "No matter how you spin it, we should have gone on the call. But no matter how you spin it, I wasn't treated fairly."

Last month, a separate federal arbitrator determined that lead medic Trevor Murray's firing was unlawful and ordered the city to reinstate him. Murray and Jones were staffing the same truck the morning of the 911 call.

The city is expected to determine at its Nov. 2 meeting whether to fight the decision regarding Murray because city attorneys believe the arbitrator in that case may have exceeded his authority.

As for the ruling on Jones, City Manager Bill Horne said the city was evaluating it.

Paul Donnelly, the lawyer who represented both Jones and Murray, said, "I would hope that the city commission would now finally realize that it (an appeal) would not be the right thing to do for Mr. Jones and Mr. Murray or for the taxpayers."

Jones and Murray were fired on May 12, 2005, after they didn't answer the 911 call of a woman who claimed to have been raped by everyone from the president of the United States to Attorney General John Ashcroft.

On the March 26, 2005, morning that she called 911, the woman claimed to have been raped while she slept. Murray and Jones entered the truck and turned on the engine when they recognized the address as the frequent rape caller. Instead of going on the call, Murray told the dispatcher to contact them if police determine they are needed and to make his unit available for another call.

A Clearwater police officer answered the call and eventually took the woman to a mental hospital.

Jones argued it was the decision of the lead paramedic, Murray, not to go on the call and that he simply followed orders. "It was wrong in retrospect, they both recognized it, but it was Murray's decision," Potter wrote.

But Potter said the offense should not have been grounds for discharge. In reaching that decision, he factored whether the discipline reasonably related to the seriousness of the offense and the record of the employee in his service with the employer.

Both Jones and Murray were considered stellar paramedics.

Jones, currently a firefighter/paramedic with the city of Zephyrhills, said he would consider coming back to Clearwater.

Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard expressed disappointment that a second arbitrator has ruled against the city. Hibbard said that while he can't speak for the entire council, the recent decision may have some influence on whether to proceed with an appeal in the Murray case.

The Oct. 16 decision also marked another setback in the city and Fire Chief Jamie Geer's ongoing battle with IAFF Local 1158, the union that represents the fire department's rank and file. On Oct. 12, the Public Employees Relations Commission upheld a hearing officer's July 26 ruling that the city violated state statutes when it enacted an overly broad no-solicitation rule and banned the use of its e-mail system for IAFF Local 1158 communications.

"It's the fifth time in a row that an outside, neutral and independent third party has found Clearwater to have blatantly violated the law against the firefighters," Donnelly said of PERC's decision. "I am hopeful that they will step up, admit they made the mistakes and make them right."

The losses include several PERC decisions regarding unfair labor practice complaints, the two rulings on the fired paramedics and a discrimination lawsuit. There are also several unfair labor practice complaints awaiting a hearing.

Horne said the city is still reviewing PERC's latest ruling, and it hasn't decided whether to appeal the decision to a district court.

[Last modified October 30, 2006, 23:46:28]