Currently, 300 fire fighters, 23 New York City police officers, including four sergeants, and 35 Port Authority officers are unaccounted for out of the 5,400 persons believed missing. Also among the missing are a Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a Special Agent of the U.S. Secret Service. The chief of security for the towers, himself a retired FBI agent, has not been found. Additionally, many retired NYPD officers reportedly work security for financial firms headquartered in the towers and may have lost their lives. 

Officials from national police groups expressed sympathy for their lost New York brothers. The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) issued a statement expressing sorrow and praising those called upon to deal with the incident. "The police officers, fire fighters, and medical personnel are truly heroes and deserve the honor of that title," read the statement authored by FOP National Secretary Jerry Atnip. 

"The courage and stalwart determination to risk their own lives so others might live shows the world that the best of the American spirit lives in all of us," said Sam Cabral, President of the International Association of Police Unions, AFL-CIO. "We owe it to them to now go forward in the uncertain future with the legacy of courage they give us. The world must know that the resources of every 

On September 17, the first day that major league baseball games resumed play, the New York Mets wore "NYPD" and "FDNY" caps during pre-game ceremonies in Pittsburgh. The Mets' ballpark, Shea Stadium, was being used as a staging area for emergency personnel. 

The unions representing the missing officers have seen their operations curtailed. A week after the incident, the office of the New York City Patrolmen's Benevolent Association (PBA), located a few blocks east of the towers, was operating off of emergency power generators. The PBA lacked regular telephone service but established a network of cellular phones to handle health and welfare fund inquiries. The union is providing counselors for all emergency services personnel. Ironically, the most recent posting on its Internet website is entitled "Help needed!" The posting, dated four days before the tragedy, is actually a request for individuals to man phone banks during the September 11 city election primary - an election that was cancelled. Similarly, offices of both the Lieutenants Benevolent Association and Captains Endowment Association lost electrical power and telephone service. 

The offices of the Port Authority Police Benevolent Association are housed in New Jersey and were not directly affected by the blasts. 

Congress responded to expedite the payment of benefits under the federal Public Safety Officer Benefit Program. Both houses quickly passed legislation requiring benefit payments be made within 30 days of notification of death from the employing agency. Additionally, the Department of Justice has agreed to simplify the benefit 

On the labor side, the tragedy creates a difficult labor relations situation. The PBA contract talks are at impasse and presumably headed for arbitration. The captains' and lieutenants' unions only recently ratified a new multi-year labor pact, one that the sergeants' union rejected. While the popularity of police officers is at an all time high, the financial pressures on city government are likely to be enormous. City officials have already 

The apparent loss of the New York officers is destined to be the single deadliest incident in American law enforcement history. In 1917, nine Milwaukee officers were killed by a bomb blast, the previous most deadly event. Over its existence, the NYPD has lost 544 officers in the line of duty up to the September 11 terrorist attack. 

The next step for the proposal is a vote before 

A companion piece of legislation has 179 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives. That bill, H.1475, remains in committee and no hearing has been scheduled as yet. During the 106th Congress similar legislation received a hearing before a House committee and enjoyed 243 co-sponsors. With a new Congressional session, the legislative process starts over. 

Mashburn, who lived with Marrero for ten years, vowed to pursue the matter in court. 

The fatal shooting of Marrero July 6 by a fleeing bank robber raised public awareness about same sex couples in the Tampa Police Department and touched off a debate about their lack of legal standing on matters such as pensions. 

The department pension plan provides for a lifetime benefit to a surviving spouse. Lacking a spouse, the deceased officer's estate is entitled to a refund of the officer's contribution, about $50,000 in this instance. 

A police union official stated that he favored changing the pension plan to allow an unmarried officer to designate a beneficiary for the lifetime benefit but did not know whether it was fiscally viable. 

NAPO is comprised of police labor organizations representing 225,000 officers. Much of the group's energy is devoted to lobbying Congress on police labor-related laws and filing friend of the court briefs before the Supreme Court in law enforcement and labor cases. 

Cases of interest 

HELD: To sustain a claim under the ADA Frazier must show that he is disabled within the meaning of the law, is a qualified individual, and was terminated because of his disability. A review of the evidence indicates that Frazier was medically unable to engage in any violent activity, including performing unassisted arrests. Likewise, he was physically unable to run and carry a firearm. Thus, the department claims Frazier was unable to perform the essential functions of the job. An essential function under the ADA is defined as a fundamental job duty of the position that the individual holds. A job function is essential if the reason the position exists is to perform the function, there are a limited number of employees available among whom the performance of that job function can be distributed, and the incumbent in the position is hired for his expertise or ability to perform the particular function. Federal regulations implementing the ADA provide that certain evidence may be considered in determining whether a particular function is essential. This evidence 

HELD: West claims a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). To make a prima facie case of discrimination based upon a disability, West must demonstrate the existence of a disability, qualification to perform the essential job functions, and an adverse employment action taken against him because of his disability. Prior case law has held that sleep apnea can constitute a disability under the ADA. Similarly, obesity can, under certain circumstances, be considered a disability. However, West has failed to demonstrate that he was terminated from the town because of his impairment. It is undisputed that he was terminated because of untruthfulness regarding the broken mirror incident. Circumstances do not suggest a discriminatory motive for West's termination. An employer is not required to ignore blatantly unacceptable behavior of its employees 

HELD: In Louisiana, an employee who has gained permanent status cannot be subject to disciplinary action except for cause expressed in writing. That individual likewise has a right to appeal any disciplinary action to the civil service commission. The commission has a duty to decide if the appointing authority had good or lawful cause for taking the action and, if so, whether the punishment is commensurate with the offense. Therefore, to modify the disciplinary action of the 

HELD: At the arbitration hearing a department representative stated that once an employee retires from the department it is without ability to proceed against an employee through disciplinary action. Thus, when Behrens retired, the department was foreclosed from pursuing the disciplinary charges. The department believes that Behrens retired so that he would not be subject to further discipline. Likewise, when he retired he was precluded from being returned to duty with the receipt of his full pay. Thus, the department believes that the arbitration award should be vacated because the arbitrator exceeded her authority when she awarded the back pay. Under New Jersey law, the collective bargaining agreement defines the rules that govern the arbitration process. An arbitrator exceeds his powers when he ignores that limited authority. In this case, the arbitrator's decision graphs an additional condition upon the parties' contract: namely, that if an officer is indicted and subsequently acquitted of criminal charges, he is automatically entitled to back pay for the period of the suspension. Such a provision is not found in the contract. Because Behrens' decision to retire precluded the department from pursuing disciplinary 

HELD: The New Jersey constitution prohibits the enactment of special legislation. Legislation is deemed special when by force of an inherent limitation it arbitrarily separates some persons, places, or things from others upon which, but for such limitation, it would operate. The test of a special law is the appropriateness of its provisions to the objects that it excludes. To distinguish special and general legislation a court must discern the purpose and object of the law. A review of the statute in question fails to present a clear reason for the convention leave law. Trial court suggested that the convention leave statute was an employment benefit to public employees and served an educational purpose for which a public employer might otherwise be responsible. However, it is difficult to project any rational purpose of a statute that includes certain ethnic groups, such as the black fire fighters' association, while not including other ethnic groups. While the legislature can confer a benefit, such as paid convention leave, there is no rational basis for including certain fraternal organizations and excluding others. This renders the statute unconstitutional. The argument is also advanced that the statute is unconstitutional because 

HELD: It is the policy of Ohio law to encourage and favor arbitration. Arbitration provides the parties with a relatively speedy and inexpensive method of conflict resolution and has the additional effect of unburdening crowded court dockets. In order to advance the policy concerns that underline the arbitration system, courts have refused to review the merits of an arbitration award arising from collective bargaining agreements. The limited scope of judicial review derives from the fact that the arbitration is a creature of contract. Contracting parties who agree to submit disputes to arbitration or final decision have chosen to bypass the normal litigation process. Thus, courts will alter arbitration awards only in limited circumstances. In this case, the city argues that the arbitrator exceeded his authority. While state statute provides that arbitration awards may be vacated where the arbitrator exceeds his authority, the converse is also true: if the arbitrator has not exceeded his authority, the award should not be vacated. When determining whether the arbitrator exceeded his authority, a reviewing court must determine whether the award 

HELD: Review of the decisions of civil service boards is very limited. The board's fact- findings will be overturned only if they are clearly erroneous in the light of all the evidence. The city maintains the board acted arbitrarily and exceeded its discretionary powers. However the ordinance establishing the board provides that it may investigate whether discipline was made in good faith for cause. Likewise, the board has authority to reinstate the employee if the removal was not made in good faith for cause. The ordinance effectively grants the board the authority to determine whether discipline is excessive. A finding of just cause does not require a board to uphold the disciplinary action taken by the chief of police. An examination of the record reveals the board rightfully found just cause for the discipline of Schlumbohm. The board, however, did not abuse its discretion or act arbitrarily in modifying the original discipline. The city also objects to the board hearing evidence from Schlumbohm regarding prior disciplinary action of other officers who were involved in alcohol-related and traffic offenses. The city claims the board improperly used this evidence 

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