The Launch of Garrityrights.org!

4/7/2011

After many months of work, I am very pleased to launch garrityrights.org, a comprehensive resource on Garrity Rights for public employees and their employers.

I have studied Garrity Rights for many years, dating back to the 1990s when I represented correctional officers and other employees of a state department of corrections. The more I researched Garrity, the more I became aware of the topic's frustrating complexity. I also became aware that there is a great deal of misunderstanding about Garrity Rights across the country.

Part of the confusion is actually generated by the Internet. It is now practically effortless for someone to research Garrity Rights on the World Wide Web. However, Garrity has been reinterpreted and applied differently across the country; so, for example, a police officer in Illinois might Google "Garrity Rights" and end up reading an article written by a labor lawyer in Massachusetts. The officer would thus be reading information that in many ways does not apply to him/her (Why? See U.S. v. Indorato and Carney v. City of Springfield).

This site will be a work in progress, and I'm sure I will be updating and improving it regularly. I will occasionally report and comment on new developments here in the blog.

So please explore. I hope you find the information here useful, and that it improves your understanding of Garrity Rights. I welcome your questions and feedback - please visit the Contact page and drop me a note.

8 Comments

Beki Serwach NALC Br. 4374

4/18/2011 03:24:18 am

This is a great site so far, and long needed. As a Letter Carrier and Union Officer, we see Kalkines often and it can be deceptive at best.

Fed Employee

8/5/2011 03:41:04 pm

Great site. I wish this was here a few months ago when I was confronted with this issue. My union rep didn't know anything about this topic and had never heard of it before.

I was confronted with Garrity rights. I told the investigators that I don't understand my rights and I need a lawyer to explain it to me. The investigator's partner yelled at me, came and sat right next to me, and yelled each word one at a time and asked Do you speak English? What don't you understand about it. If you don't sign it your guilty. I felt compelled and coerced to sign it. I now feel that this was not admissible, should I make a big deal out of this issue? Can I claim it was compelled and inadmissible?

CW link

12/10/2016 06:13:05 pm

you should I am going through a malicious case that was brought against me and every right in the book was violated by the USPS mgmt. and OIG agents

Don Taylor, Site Owner

8/6/2011 11:18:31 pm

Hi, thanks for your kind words about the site.

What the investigator did was certainly abusive. What did they have you sign, a statement about your Garrity Rights? In Federal employment this is sometimes referred to as a "Kalkines Warning."

If the statement they made you sign contained any waiver of your rights, you might have an argument that you were coerced into waiving your rights. You'd have an even better case if you were threatened with termination for refusing to sign.

Similarly, if what they made you sign was your own statement detailing the events under investigation, you may have a case that it was coerced, but your case would be much stronger if they threatened you with termination.

Please feel free to email me directly at [email protected] if you have further questions, I'll do my best to help.

jual obat asam urat link

1/31/2014 06:03:48 pm

If the statement they made you sign contained any waiver of your rights, you might have an argument that you were coerced into waiving your rights. You'd have an even better case if you were threatened with termination for refusing to sign

Don Taylor, Site Owner

1/31/2014 09:29:21 pm

If a person were coerced into waiving their rights, that would be a violation of their rights per Gardiner v. Broderick.

Macie link

12/12/2020 12:31:05 am

Thannks for sharing this

Philip Mccarthy link

11/5/2022 05:24:05 am

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The Launch of Garrityrights.org!

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