By Andrew Strickler
Newsday
NEW YORK — The Malverne police union that claimed hundreds of paid days off for officers who worked “special” holidays such as Gold Star Mother’s Day and Child Health Day has lost its bid to keep the unusual perk and accrued time off.
An independent arbitrator’s decision to side with the village means about half of the department’s 22 officers owe back time for work on more than two dozen arcane observances, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton Day (Nov. 12) and Gerald Ford Day (Jan. 2).
“I would say there has been some disappointment in the department,” said Malverne Mayor Patricia McDonald.
The decision concludes that the union added an increasing number of days without properly notifying the village. “The old rubric about the orphan who kills his parents and then, at trial, pleads for mercy because he is an orphan, has utility here,” the decision states.
Malverne Police Chief John Aresta, who himself was once credited for three “special” days, brought the matter to the attention of the village board after he was named chief last year. He said the issue continues to rankle some in the small department. “Some of the guys still really don’t want anything to do with talking with me, but a lot of the guys have come around,” he said.
Thirteen of the 22 officers in the department now have between one day and a week of time off earned through the days, Aresta said. He expects the village to formally request the time back soon.
“I think everyone is resigned to the arbitration decision, and they knew they’d have to make the village whole,” he said.
Based on the union’s interpretation of a clause in a now-expired contract, officers got credit for work on up to 25 additional days between 2004 and 2007. The days - most of which were commemorated in state or federal proclamations - included National Day of Katrina Remembrance (Aug. 29), Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday (Oct. 27), and Parents’ Day (July 27).
Malverne cops got 247 hours in 2004 and 2005 for work on some of the arcane holidays, according to a town report. In 2006 and the first seven months of 2007, officers claimed a total of 3,389.5 hours - equal to 282 12-hour shifts. An officer’s starting salary is $37,791 a year.
The number of days grew from two in 2004 to nine in 2005. In 2006 and 2007, the list grew an additional 16 days, according to the decision.
The time off earned was in addition to 12 paid holidays, personal time, sick days and vacation days, according to village officials. Supervisors were responsible for crediting the days, which were not noted on time cards, police said.
The union began claiming the credit after getting permission to earn time for working on June 11, 2004, which President George W. Bush declared a national day of mourning for the death of Ronald Reagan.
A year ago, Aresta pulled the perk and deleted the time off officers had already accrued. The move was supported by McDonald and other village officials who said the perk drove up overtime costs. The union responded by filing a grievance and demanding arbitration. Total police expenditures in 2007 were $3.4 million, including $458,678 in overtime.
The police union’s attorney, David Davis, argued then that a contract clause gave union members comp time for work on “special observance” days designated by the president, governor or county executive.
The arbitration decision last month states that the union uses the clause in such a way that it could create “absurd results.”
"[I]f every proclamation constituted a special day, the village would have a workforce nearly as much on leave as on duty, with catastrophic financial consequences to the village,” the decision states.
Similar clauses in other police union contracts limit such credit for days on which the majority of municipal employees do not work.
Davis was out of town this week and not available for comment.
Copyright 2008 Newsday