SAGINAW (MI) FIREFIGHTERS

LOCAL 102

WEINGARTEN RIGHTS and GARRITY RULES

WEINGARTEN RIGHTS
Weingarten deals with a member's right to have a union representative present when the member is being questioned and the investigation may lead to discipline. There are several prongs of the test that must be met before Weingarten rights are applicable.

1. The right to have a union representative present only applies in situations where an employee reasonably believes that the investigation will result in disciplinary action against him.
   
2. The meeting must be investigatory in nature. Under MERC where a meeting is not called to "investigate" actions of an employee but simply to convey to him management's complaints about his work, the employee has not been denied his Weingarten rights by not having a union representative present.
   
3. The employee must request a union representative be present or he waives this right.
   

All of the three prongs above must be met before you can properly invoke Weingarten rights. To reiterate, Weingarten allows union representation when a member has a reasonable belief that an investigatory situation may lead to discipline; the member must request union representation.

GARRITY RULES
The holding of the Supreme Court in the Garrity case stands for the proposition that public employees, (i.e. firefighters, police officers) have the same constitutional rights that other citizens under the Constitution. Hence, a firefighter may not be forced to incriminate himself as it relates to potential criminal activity. In order for your Garrity rights to be invoked, the following situation must be present:

1. Your supervisors have requested that you either orally or in writing report information which may be self-incriminating down the line in a criminal action.
   
2. If they insist that the information is mandatory as a condition of your employment or that you will lose some other benefit by not telling him, then you may invoke Garrity.
   
3. Any information given to the department either in writing or oral may not be used in any criminal prosecution after Garrity has been invoked. It is recommended, that you invoke Garrity only after discussing same with the Saginaw Firefighter's Local 102 and its Counsel.
   

If you are questioned, called into a meeting/interview, and/or ordered to submit a report or statement, either oral or written, you should ask the following questions:

1. Could discipline result from this?
   
2. Could criminal charges result from this?
   

 If the answer to either question is other than an unequivocal "NO", you have the right to demand union representation before any further action may occur. You must specifically ask for union representation. When in doubt, ask for a union representative, and wait for the representative to arrive. You cannot be treated differently by the Department because you have exercised either your Weingarten or Garrity rights.

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