In Nassau Jail Kitchens
Rule Civilians Can Supervise Inmates

By REUVEN BLAU

A Nassau County Supreme Court Justice has denied a Sheriff Officers' Association petition to block civilian employees from working in the jail's kitchens and supervising inmates there.

BRIAN SULLIVAN: 'It's a safety issue.'

The union representing the approximately 1,100 Correction Officers at the East Meadow jail contended that the personnel shift enacted last year posed a safety hazard and violated its contract, civil service regulations and labor laws.

Doubts on Union's Case

Supreme Court Justice Daniel Martin, however, tossed ShOA's motion for a preliminary injunction, concluding that the union failed to demonstrate the lawsuit's required likelihood of success.

Justice Martin also ruled that nothing in the state Civil Service Law stipulates that Correction Officers must continuously and directly supervise inmates.

In the suit, ShOA pointed to an April 2, 2006 incident in which an inmate at the Erie County Correctional Facility escaped from that facility's kitchen while supervised by civilian kitchen staff. After the escape, the inmate, Ralph "Bucky" Phillips, killed a State Trooper and injured two others.

In August 2006, the New York State Commission of Correction issued a report that recommended direct officer supervision over inmates in the kitchen area.

'An Isolated Incident'

But Justice Martin noted that was only one of the report's 25 findings which contributed to the escape. "Plaintiffs' reliance upon the Erie incident is unavailing," he stated. "Plaintiffs point to a single, isolated incident at another facility without demonstrating to the court at all how the conditions extent (sic) at the particular facility at issue herein."

Justice Martin also rejected ShOA's contention that the civilian employees are acting outside of the scope of their job description by providing security in the kitchen areas. He pointed out that at least three of the job descriptions for the civilian employees require security duties at all times.

ShOA charged that the move also violated its collective-bargaining agreement, which requires the county to provide "safe and healthful" working conditions for Correction Officers.

But Justice Martin noted the testimony of former jail supervisor David Rodenburg, who said that from 1985 to 2000 there were no Correction Officers assigned to supervise inmates working in the Nassau County Correction Center kitchens.

Stipulation Unclear

Justice Martin said that ShOA's contract included a stipulation where the county agreed not to assign civilian employees to duties "ordinarily" performed by Correction Officers. But that clause, he ruled, was "ambiguous."

Brian Sullivan, the union's first vice president, noted that the judge actually revoked the Temporary Restraining Order he had initially approved. "We are still going to go forward in the case and we are looking forward for a full-blown hearing," he said during a Dec. 20 phone interview. "We continue to believe that this is a safety issue and will continue to pressure the Sheriff to place officers in there."

The jail's kitchens have long been a matter of contention for ShOA, which has questioned how a veteran prison cook who declared bankruptcy 10 years ago recently became the Undersheriff of the facility.

In August, this newspaper also reported that Undersheriff Michael Sposato worked as a process-server while claiming to be at his job as a jail cook at the same time, but was never disciplined after the allegations surfaced in 2003.

The matter is also tied to a union dispute, as the civilian workers at the jail are represented by a different labor organization, the Civil Service Employees Association.