Union Says Firefighter Was 'Coerced' into Taking Suspension

Oak Lawn firefighters are once more the center of controversy after news that two fire department employees had been and village firefighters had run up $900,000 in overtime last year.

The employees—a firefighter and administrative staff member—both were disciplined for two separate incidents that occurred in December. The firefighter received a 30-day suspension.

Now, a veteran Oak Lawn firefighter and board member of the local firefighters union is calling Village Manager Larry Deetjen’s depiction of events leading up to the firefighter’s suspension at Tuesday’s village board meeting less than accurate.

“The village refused to tell us what he did,” Bob Lanz said. “They quoted some vague regulations about abusing sick leave. They met the spirit of the law but not the intent.”

Deetjen reported that the village had “substantial” evidence against the firefighter and was prepared to present that evidence during a disciplinary hearing. The firefighter opted to take a 30-day suspension from the fire chief rather than be fired.

According to Lanz, there is a video that shows the firefighter engaging in some type of activity while under a doctor’s care for a back injury. Lanz says the firefighter was off for three days and taking prescription medication that would have restricted him from performing his job.

Lanz said that neither he nor the local’s president, Scott Tsilis, saw the video despite repeated requests. After one meeting, Tsilis even offered to take the Metra to the village legal counsel’s office in downtown Chicago where the video was, but was told that the attorney was not in the office.

“The village gave no specifics. They didn’t give us anything to work with,” Lanz said. “It they told us what (the firefighter) did and showed us, maybe we would have agreed and said, ‘You know, he is violating something here.’”

When the firefighter was released from doctor’s care and reported for duty, he was sent home because his doctor’s note was found unacceptable. An earlier note had stated the doctor’s prognosis and treatment—rest and exercise.

Lanz said Oak Lawn’s firefighters are accustomed to being photographed and videotaped by private detectives hired by the village to make sure that firefighters are not abusing their sick leave.

The union embraced the village’s hiring of private detectives to watch firefighters out on injury or sick leave when allegations of sick leave abuse first surfaced three years ago.

“It’s no secret. We’ve seen them in front of our houses,” Lanz said. “If (village officials) believe that, great. Feel free to prove it. We embraced it.”

Lanz said the firefighter told union leaders what he thought the video evidence might be. (Deetjen and Oak Lawn Fire Chief George Sheets would not comment about the existence of a video when asked Tuesday evening.)

When the firefighter was presented an offer by Sheets—accept a 30-day suspension or be fired—the firefighter decided to take the suspension.  

Lanz said that union leaders advised the firefighter to fight the allegations, but the firefighter could not afford losing his paycheck for seven to 12 months while fighting a wrongful termination.

“Sometimes people make decisions that are wrong and are to me absolutely sinful and deceitful,” Lanz said. “But you don’t have a choice and that’s what happened here.”

Oak Lawn Village Trustees Alex Olejniczak and Tom Phelan both have alleged publically that village firefighters are calling in sick to work second jobs and have taken more sick time off than needed, requiring associates to fill in shifts at time-and-a-half pay.

Deetjen also has blamed the firefighter union contract’s four-person staffing requirement for the excessive overtime costs, saying that three people can safely staff fire engines in order to save the village money.

Lanz said he believed the firefighter would have eventually won his job back with back pay because “he did nothing wrong.”

He also made it clear that he was not speaking on the disciplined firefighter’s behalf, but the union’s.

"When I say he was coerced into accepting a 30-day suspension, he was coerced into accepting a 30-day suspension," Lanz said. "His alternative would have been to say no, be fired and fight the fight. Eventually he would have gotten back pay, but in the meantime you've lost your house so it doesn't matter."

Lanz was on duty during Tuesday’s village board meeting but was aware that the issue would be coming up. Firefighters are restricted from engaging in union activities, including talking to the media, while on duty.

But the first thing Lanz said he did when got off duty Wednesday morning was to get on Oak Lawn Patch and try to tell the firefighters’ side of the story. Some residents have come down hard on the firefighters for excessive overtime.

Lanz says an unofficial investigation is now under way. The village wants to know if Lanz “blogged” while on duty.

“There’s an investigation, but I’m not supposed to know about it,” Lanz said. “This is America, and there’s such a thing as freedom of speech.”