In a five to four decision, the justices ruled that Congress exceeded its constitutional authority when it authorized state workers over 40 years old to sue their employers for age bias. In a two-part ruling, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, writing for the majority, said that the Constitution bars states from being sued for money damages unless Congress specifically authorizes such suits. The justice then ruled that Congress lacks the constitutional authority to authorize such suits for age discrimination. 

The opinion, Kimel v. Florida Board of Regents, No. 98-791, marks the latest in a string of rulings in which the justices have struck down federal laws giving individuals the right to sue the states. Last term, the court ruled that probation officers could not maintain personal suits against the state for violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Such suits are barred by Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity, the court has ruled. The court noted, however, that aggrieved parties are not without a remedy because almost every state has its own statute prohibiting age discrimination. 

In her opinion, Justice O'Connor observed that old age is different than other worker classifications because all workers will experience it. She noted that it was constitutionally permissible

While the opinion is unlikely to have a major impact on public safety personnel due to a 1996 change in the ADEA that generally exempts fire fighters and police officers, the decision is important in a broader constitutional sense. Unclear from the decision is whether the same constitutional reasoning applies to local governmental entities. For many years the Supreme Court has held that subdivisions of the state do not enjoy sovereign immunity in federal court. However, broad verbiage in the opinion does not appear to maintain this distinction. If the Supreme Court is poised to extend Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity to county and city governments, the continued viability of individual enforcement of statutorily-created worker's rights, such as equal employment laws and the FLSA, may be called into question. 

How broadly the justices are inclined to interpret the concept of sovereign immunity may become clearer next month when the court hears oral arguments in Christensen v. Harris County, Texas, No. 98-1167, a case challenging the county's method of implementation of the compensatory time provisions of the FLSA. 

Terry Rice and Michael Merkle pleaded guilty to misdemeanor drug charges following an investigation last year into a California-based cocaine ring. Merkle is serving a 30-day sentence at a minimum security federal prison while Rice is doing 15 days at a county corrections facility.

Earlier this month Fire Chief Debra Amesqua filed administrative charges with the city's Police and Fire Commission seeking to terminate

The attorney for Merkle called the termination unfair because his client had never used drugs on the job. Wisconsin law is unclear on the question of whether off duty drug use that does not affect job performance is sufficient grounds for termination of a fire fighter.

Merkle and Rice are the fourth and fifth Madison fire fighters the chief has sought to terminate in her four-year tenure. No fire fighters had been terminated in the previous 25 years.

The unauthorized rides took place last October after Engine 55 was dispatched to an automobile fire near the Chicago Yacht Club. The fire turned out only to be a steaming radiator hose. However, a crowd of partygoers surrounded the engine. Reportedly, at the request of several of the revelers who were concerned that their driver was too intoxicated to operate an automobile, fire fighters agreed to transport two women and a man. After

The charges brought a reaction from Bill Kugelman, president of Chicago Fire Fighters Union, Local 2. "It was just a good neighbor policy. They were taking them out of harm's way. I've done it many times myself. My God, you've got coppers the other day who were delivering Christmas presents in squad cars," Kugleman said.

The incident is the first disciplinary action for new Fire Commissioner James Joyce. His predecessor stepped down last year after becoming involved in a feud concerning the investigation of a raucous 1990 firehouse party.

Robert Goodstein, attorney for the group, said, "We are not asking the court to overturn the policy, but just pay the officers for time the agency

The LOA is seeking $100 million in lost wages and damages for a three-year period beginning in 1996. New York City correctional officers filed a similar suit in 1995. A federal judge refused to grant them relief and the matter is now on appeal. 

In recent months eleven other Tacoma fire service employees have been reprimanded for improper or personal use of the e-mail system. These workers used their e-mail accounts to transmit jokes, poems, and, in one incident, a pumpkin pie recipe.

Department investigators searched each fire fighter's Internet browser during the inquiry. Access to the city's e-mail via department computers is available only to supervisors and support personnel. 

Department policy restricts e-mail messages to work-related matters. "If it isn't related to business, don't do it," Fire Chief Robert Moore said. 

The fire fighters' union is not disputing the sanctions, reportedly accepting the view that the computers and their content are city property.

Supreme Court update

Cases of interest

HELD: McMenemy contends that the fire chief's statement promising him a promotion created a constitutional right to the rank of captain. Additionally McMenemy argues that Fourteenth Amendment due process guarantees the right to a fair and competitive civil service examination process. These claims are asserted under the concept of substantive due process. Substantive due process covers the fundamental rights protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. The due process clause guarantees more than a fair process. It also provides heightened protection against government interference with certain fundamental rights. Prior case law has identified fundamental rights to include the right to marry, to have children, to marital privacy, to bodily integrity, and to use contraception. No case has established the right to the rank of fire captain or the right to competitive promotional exams. Not every wrong committed by a municipality rises to the level of a constitutional violation. The Constitution is not intended to supplant traditional tort law. Thus, whatever rights McMenemy may have had in the promotion process

HELD: The city maintains that personnel files containing employee compensation information, date of birth, gender, address, job title, payments for vacation time and sick leave are confidential. The newspaper claims entitlement to all of the information in the personnel files. The parties agree that the newspaper and the public at large are entitled to know the names of city employees plus general information concerning their departmental assignments and annual compensation. The unions argue, however, that the worker's right of privacy requires that individual sick leave usage as well as birth date, gender, and address be precluded from disclosure. The newspaper counters

HELD: The plaintiff in this case solely alleges liability on the part of the department based on the doctrine of vicarious liability for Doyle's conduct. Under New York statute, however, for Doyle to be civilly liable he must have acted with reckless disregard for the safety of others. New York traffic laws permit an authorized emergency vehicle to disregard various traffic laws, providing the operator does not act with reckless disregard for the safety of others. It is evident from the facts of this case that Doyle did not overstep his statutorily

HELD: It is well-settled law in Ohio that a valid contract cannot be made if its purpose or performance is contrary to statute. Similarly, a contract may be void if it violates public policy, the legal principle that declares that one may not