Legal Decisions for Fire and Emergency Services The American legal system is based upon case precedent and the way the courts are interpreting the law. The result is that there will be shifts in how these concepts are applied with each other. In the case of fire and emergency services, the issue is further complicated from the municipality's policies, procedures and relevant laws. To determine the overall scope of these activities requires focusing on various court cases and the impact of these decisions. Together, these elements will illustrate the effect they are having on fire and emergency services. (Painter, 2012) (Tworney, 2009)

The Impact of recent Legal Decisions on Fire and Emergency Services

There will be a total of 11 different court cases analyzed. The most notable include: Dedham v. Labor Relations Committee, IAFF Local 2010 v. City of Homestead International, Association of Fire Fighters Local 2905 v. Town of Hartford, Fire Fighters Union v. City of Vallejo, IAFF Local 669 v. Scranton, IAFF Local 314 v. City of Scranton, St. Bernard v. State Employee Relations Board, Watts v. City of Norman, IAFF Local 93 v. City of Cleveland, Jerry o. Smith v City of Des Moines and Minch v. City of Chicago. Each one of these transformed the interpretations of various laws and case precedent. (Painter, 2012) (Tworney, 2009)

Dedham v. Labor Relations Committee involves a firefighter who was fired by the city of Dedham. He appealed to the Civil Service Commission, who upheld the decision. In response, the plaintiff...

The U.S. Court of appeals determined that there were critical errors in the way the law was interpreted (with them upholding the pervious decisions). They ruled that the firefighter should be reinstated. However, they left the scope this to the state Supreme Court (by remanding the case back to them). IAFF Local 2010 v. City of Homestead International is focusing on the way fire department negotiates with employees. In this case, the union is challenging the city of Homestead's policies on negotiating with its employees. They sued for violating their basic rights by not being transparent throughout the process. The lower court awarded them compensatory and punitive damages. U.S. Court of Appeals is asked to review the decision by the city. They upheld the damages against the defendant. However, they ruled that in order to prove the case, the plaintiff must show that there were direct conflicts of interest. Association of Fire Fighters Local 2905 v. Town of Hartford questions if the Fire Chief is a legitimate authority to engage in collective bargaining. This is because he plays a role as a supervisor and is not a designated representative of the union. The lower court determined that this person cannot participate in negotiations. The Vermont Supreme Court agreed and upheld the decision. (Painter, 2012) (Tworney, 2009)
Fire Fighters Union v. City of Vallejo is concentrating on if the city of Vallejo, California can layoff firefighters…