Your Rights

In All Interviews Ask:
  1. Am I under investigation for any alleged criminal conduct?
  2. Am I suspected of breaking a Department rule or regulation?
  3. Can I request time to contact mu FOPLC representative or attorney to have him/her present?
  4. Am I being ordered to answer the questions put to me or face discipline or discharge?
Questioning by Supervisors – You have a Right:
  1. To be informed of the nature of the investigations.
  2. To be told whether you are expected to be the subject of the investigation or merely a witness.
  3. To have a FOPLC representative present during questioning and not to have this fact held against you.
  4. To refuse to answer questions for a reasonable time, once your demand is given to have an FOPLC represented present and the FOPLC has been notified.
  5. To the protections detailed by the Miranda and Garrity cases when possible criminal charges may involve you in the situation then being investigated.
  6. To refuse to write a special report or memo about situations involving possible criminal charges being laid against you, and prior to the opportunity to confer with and FOPLC representative.
  7. To demand FOPLC representation whenever you reasonably believe that the interview may lead to your discipline.
What Are Weingarten Rights?
  1. A represented employee has a right to have a union representative present at an investigatory interview conducted by an employer when that employee has reasonable fears that disciplinary action may result.
  2. Weingarten protections do not attach where a meeting or interview with an Employee who is being interviewed only as a WITNESS.
    • Are the questions “What did you see and hear……
    • Or
    • Are they becoming “What did you do and why did YOU……
How do I invoke my Weingarten Rights?
  1. Upon notice to report for an interview, ask the employer if the answers to the questions could result in discipline. If so, YOU have to ask to have a union representative present. A representative cannot demand entrance into your interview.
  2. There is no right to an attorney, but you have a right to consult with a union representative prior to answering questions. You have a right to have a union representative present during the interview.
  3. The employer has no right to designate preference for union representation. The choice of union representation is up to the employee.
  4. Weingarten Rights can be invoked at any time – but it’s up to the employee in the hot seat to request/demand, and keep requesting/demanding until representation is obtained or the interview is terminated.

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