Off-Duty Conduct: I Can Do What I Want, Right?

A fire captain tells city council that its funding too few firefighters... 
A firefighter using medical marijuana tests positive... 
A firefighter is ordered to surrender her personal iPhone to the chief for search in connection with an internal investigation... 
So what happened to being off-duty? Where does regulation of off-duty and personal behavior begin and end? Attorneys Alisa Arnoff and John Rukavina will discuss the legal authority for, and limits of, regulation of off-duty firefighter behavior.

Learning Objectives:

• Familiarize participants with the rules (federal, state, local) regarding the regulation/discipline of off-duty firefighter conduct,
• Clarify the role that SOPs, policies and collective bargaining agreements have in assessing whether off-duty conduct is appropriate .
• Analyze the meaning of 'conduct unbecoming' in terms of a firefighter's right to associate with a particular group, communicate in a particular matter or express his personal viewpoints while not on duty.
• Determine whether a department can discipline someone who lawfully uses products and services, such as tobacco, alcohol, computers, escort services, or who moonlights at another department.
• Establish a baseline of comportment for your department that is the minimum of the image you want presented to the population you serve and protect.