Opinion ID: 2025020
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Attendance at Fire Calls

Text: At the beginning of 1993, the fire department conducted its annual review of fire call attendance, which revealed that a number of the firefighters, including Hedglin, Lundquist, and Grove, were not attending at least 70% of fire calls as fire department policy required. The review board held a meeting that each of the delinquent firefighters was required to attend. At the meeting, it was determined that Hedglin had in fact attended the requisite number of fire calls. He was not disciplined and does not claim that his required attendance before the review board was harassment. The records purportedly showed that Lundquist had attended only 46.9% of the fire calls and Grove had attended only 48.3% of the fire calls in the previous year. The review board recommended that Lundquist and Grove be discharged from the fire department. Lindblad agreed with the board recommendation and discharged both Lundquist and Grove. But the city administrator reinstated Lundquist and Grove, concluding that Lindblad did not have the authority as fire chief to discharge the firefighters. Both Lundquist and Grove, however, were put on probation for their low attendance at fire calls and their attitudes toward the job. Both consider this discipline to be part of the harassing conduct against them.