Summary
The Massachusetts Appeals Court reversed summary judgment for the City of Melrose in a dispute over military-leave pay for a municipal firefighter. The court held that G.L. c. 33, § 59(a) entitles a qualifying public employee to full pay for up to 40 nonconsecutive 24-hour periods of military service in each federal fiscal year, and that each 24-hour firefighter shift counts as one day. The court distinguished prior precedent because the statute had been materially amended.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether G. L. c. 33, § 59(a)'s authorization of full pay for military service not exceeding forty days in any Federal fiscal year requires the compensated days to be consecutive.
- Whether a firefighter's twenty-four-hour work shift counts as one day or two days of military leave under the statutory definition of day as any twenty-four-hour period regardless of calendar day.
Holdings
- The statute requires compensation for up to forty days of military leave in each Federal fiscal year, whether or not the days are consecutive.
- A twenty-four-hour shift counts as one day of military leave under G. L. c. 33, § 59(a).
Key quotations
“Applying the plain meaning of these words, we conclude that the firefighter is entitled to pay for up to forty twenty-four hour shifts missed during his military service in each Federal fiscal year, and not (as the city claims) up to twenty such shifts in a consecutive period of forty days.” (Opinion introduction)
“The plain and ordinary meaning of G. L. c. 33, § 59 (a), is that a public employee must be compensated for forty days of military leave per Federal fiscal year, whether or not they are consecutive.” (Section 3.b)
“Accordingly, a twenty-four hour shift counts as only one day of leave under § 59 (a).” (Section 3.c)
Factual background
Driscoll was a Melrose firefighter who worked twenty-four-hour shifts and also served as an officer in the United States Air Force and Air National Guard. Between October 2019 and September 2021, he missed military-service shifts, including active-duty and training periods. The City paid him for twenty twenty-four-hour shifts in each Federal fiscal year, but Driscoll sought compensation for up to forty such shifts under G. L. c. 33, § 59(a).
Procedural history
Driscoll filed a civil action in the Superior Court Department seeking a declaration that he was entitled to full compensation for forty twenty-four-hour shifts of military leave in each Federal fiscal year. The parties stipulated to the relevant facts and filed cross-motions for summary judgment. A Superior Court judge entered judgment for the City, ruling that Driscoll was entitled to compensation only for time he would have worked during a consecutive forty-day period. Driscoll appealed.