An arbitrator has ordered the Rhode Island Airport Corporation to reinstate a fire lieutenant who was terminated in 2024 amid allegations that he discouraged prospective firefighters from accepting jobs at T.F. Green International Airport in order to generate overtime opportunities for himself.

Lieutenant Steven Parent, president of Rhode Island Council 94, AFSCME Local 2873, was terminated from the airport’s Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting Department in October 2024. RIAC accused Lieutenant Parent of gross misconduct, alleging that he contacted prospective applicants to discourage them from accepting positions with the airport, contributing to staffing shortages while personally benefiting from the resulting overtime.

The union grieved the termination, and the matter went to arbitration before Arbitrator Sheila Mayberry. Mayberry concluded that RIAC failed to prove its allegations. In particular, she found that RIAC “did not produce a single employee whom the Grievant contacted and attempted to dissuade from working for RIAC.”

The arbitrator was also critical of RIAC’s investigation. She found that management decided to terminate Lieutenant Parent before adequately investigating the allegations, relied heavily on hearsay, and failed to obtain his side of the story.

Mayberry wrote:

• First, deciding to terminate and then investigating is putting the cart before the horse. The decision will inevitably taint the investigation, turning it into a search for material to evidence to justify a predetermined result. Second, and more fundamental, is that there is no evidence that RIAC conducted any investigation at all before terminating the Grievant.
• A fair and objective investigation is a crucial element of just cause. It is self-evident that before disciplining an employee, the employer must determine whether the employee did anything wrong.
• In terminating the Grievant, RIAC disregarded almost every principle of just cause. It gave him no “forewarning or foreknowledge” that any of his conduct could lead to discipline. It relied on hearsay accusations without investigating them or making any effort to get the Grievant’s side of the story. It repeatedly made highly derogatory statements about him to the media, which I have found to be untrue. RIAC’s posture in the media clearly indicates that it made up its mind to terminate him before the Loudermill. It did not tell him the reason(s) for his discharge at the time it made the disciplinary decision. Indeed, in the absence of evidence of any pre-termination investigation, I remain uncertain what those reasons were.
• [T]here is no evidence that RIAC conducted any investigation at all before terminating the Grievant.

RIAC also alleged that Lieutenant Parent manipulated the overtime system for his own financial benefit. Mayberry found no evidence supporting that allegation and noted that his performance evaluations had actually praised his willingness to work overtime when staffing was short.

RIAC also argued that Lieutenant Parent could not be reinstated because he entered the airport fire station several days after his termination despite having his security badge disabled. Mayberry rejected that argument, finding that RIAC’s instructions concerning his access were unclear and that RIAC did not treat the incident as a serious security breach when it occurred. She also noted that Lieutenant Parent subsequently received an airport security badge while working for an airport contractor after clearing the TSA and FBI background-check process.

Mayberry sustained the grievance and ordered RIAC to reinstate Lieutenant Parent to his former position and rank and take the necessary steps to have his SIDA badge reissued. She also ordered RIAC to make him whole for lost wages, overtime, seniority and retirement credit, less interim earnings and unemployment compensation, and to permanently remove references to the termination from his personnel record.