What is the Town's policy regarding continuing education and certification? Over a 12 year period of time ... how much continuing education and additional certification did Mr. Layman have? What did the arbitration cost the Town including the back salary and benefits for Mr. Layman? Is Mr. Layman returning to his former position, if so will there be a witch hunt to find reason to terminate Mr. Layman?
Fired New Fairfield Public Works mechanic reinstated
By John Pirro, Staff Writer
Published: 11:04 p.m., Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Department of Public Works' heavy truck fleet.
In a 108-page decision released last week, the arbitrator said the Board of Selectmen violated the collective bargaining agreement when its members voted unanimously to discharge Robert Layman, who'd worked for the department nearly 12 years.
Layman, who lives in Bethel, was granted full back pay for the nearly 20 months he was out of work, minus any money he collected through unemployment compensation.
"I'm very glad the arbitrator got it right," Layman said Tuesday. "I really have no animosity, and I'm thankful to Local 677 of the Teamsters for their support."
First Selectman John Hodge called the ruling an example
of "the nonsensical arbitration decisions that drive the taxpay-ing public crazy."
"Clearly, the arbitrator was focused on upholding the terms of the collective bargaining agreement and completely ignored the much larger public safety issues of trucks loaded with 50,000 to 60,000 pounds of weight rolling off our narrow, hilly roads with bad brakes," he said.
Layman was fired after state inspectors discovered six of the department's nine heavy trucks failed to meet federal safety standards, and five of them had problems with the air brake system.
Hodge requested the inspections after one of the trucks lost its rear wheel assembly on Route 39.
During the 10 days of arbitration hearings, the town also detailed problems with other vehicles Layman maintained, including police cars and medium-duty plow trucks, Hodge said.
In the wake of the ruling, the Board of Selectmen decided Monday to reorganize the department's vehicle maintenance division. Details of the reorganization will be made public after meetings with the union, Hodge said.
Outgoing Selectman Ron Oliveri defended the decision to fire Layman.
"Even knowing the outcome of the arbitration now does not persuade me we were wrong," he said. "We had to act quickly and decisively on behalf of our Public Works employees and the residents who travel our roads."
Contact John Pirro
at jpirro@newstimes.com
or at 203-731-3342.
