Superior Court Judge Matthew Budzik upheld an arbitration decision that determined the Town of Suffield and First Selectman Colin Moll had retaliated against Suffield firefighter Lt. Brian Gauthier when they refused to pay him for assuming fire chief responsibilities and then eliminated his position as part of the town’s 2023 budget.
“This court concludes that there is substantial evidence in the record supporting the [State Board of Labor Relations] factual inference of retaliation,” Superior Court Judge Matthew Budzik wrote in his decision. “The court is required to defer to the SBLR’s credibility determinations and its factual conclusions so long as they are reasonable and based on substantial evidence in the record.”
Gauthier took over fire chief duties on an interim basis following the former chief’s retirement in December of 2022, while also continuing to perform his duties as lieutenant. However, when the town refused to compensate Gauthier for the extra responsibilities, he and his union filed a grievance. Shortly thereafter, the town moved to eliminate the lieutenant position, effectively demoting Gauthier after they hired a new fire chief.
First Selectman Moll and the Town argued the position was already on the chopping block regardless of the grievance because the town and the Suffield Fire Commission believed there were too many officers for a small fire company. The Board of Selectmen eliminated the position in a March 15, 2023, vote, just six days after the union had filed a grievance.
The SBLR determined that Gauthier was not entitled to increased compensation for his chief duties as it was part of the lieutenant’s duties to fill that role in the interim, however the SBLR did find the town retaliated against Gauthier by eliminating his position, and ordered the town reinstate Gauthier, cease and desist from retaliating against him, and compensate him for lost wages.
Suffield, however, appealed the matter to Superior Court, claiming the SBLR’s decision was “erroneous,” “characterized by an unwarranted exercise of discretion,” and that the board ignored evidence about eliminating the lieutenant position.
Overturning an arbitration decision in court is exceedingly rare as both parties agree to abide by arbitration decisions as part of their labor contracts and seeking appeals in court can add time and cost to the ultimate decision, which generally includes awarding lost wages and attorney fees.
“Because the SBLR made the factual determination that the Fire Commission did not defund the lieutenant position at its February 23rd meeting, and because the SBLR did not credit First Selectman Moll’s alternative explanation for defunding the lieutenant position, the SBLR may make the reasonable factual inference, based on very close temporal proximity, that the board’s March 15, 2023 vote to defund the lieutenant position was in retaliation for the filing of the March 9, 2023, grievance,” Budzik wrote.
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Love it. Strong unions are supremely important when it comes to situations like this.