John K. Murphy's Blog – January 2019 Archive (2)

Much of the personnel litigation affecting a department can be prevented with adequate and early communication between the parties in the attempt to resolve an issue of conflict. As you may be directly or indirectly affected, that could mean you are the Chief, the affected member or their representatives.

Conflict refers to some form of friction, or discord arising within a group when the beliefs or actions of one or more members of the group are either resisted by or unacceptable to…

As a firefighter or public safety government employee, what are your free speech rights under the 1st Amendment?

As we have seen a number of firefighters have lost their jobs over postings on their social media sites, thinking they had a protected right to say anything or depict otherwise offensive pictures for their shared audiences. The issue of “words matter” when speaking, brings one back to the often quoted but erroneous statement of “shouting fire in a crowded theater” opined by…