Firefighter Battling MS Now Fighting for His Job

David Sackett’s been fighting Multiple Sclerosis since 2010. Now, he’s got a new kind of battle on his hands.

Sackett is trying to keep his job with the Oswego Fire Protection District after officials say he’s disobeyed direct orders regarding physicals required by firefighter/paramedics employed by the district.

Sackett was put on paid administrative leave with pay in December, and on April 19, the Fire Protection Board voted unanimously to suspend Sackett without pay, pending the outcome of a termination hearing set for May 30.

At issue is whether Sackett is required to follow the same set of physical guidelines put in place for the district’s firefighter/paramedics. Sackett, who worked as a firefighter/paramedic with the district since 2005, was assigned to the department’s Fire Prevention Bureau as an inspector on Dec. 11, 2011 after informing Fire Chief Rick Neitzer that his MS would no longer allow him to continue to work as an “on-the-street” firefighter.

The Fire Protection District board unanimously approved that appointment only hours after Sackett revealed his inability to continue to Nietzer, according to legal documents in the case.

Greg Friedman, Sackett’s attorney, says it’s that exception made by the district that would exempt Sackett from the regular physical fitness guidelines upheld by the rest of the district’s firefighter/paramedics. Moreover, the district was required to make such an exception under the Americans with Disabilities Act, Friedman said.

“Here’s a district that did the right thing by complying with the law by reasonable accommodating someone with a progressive disease,” Friedman said. “After appointing Dave to fire inspector, they then turn around and tell him ‘we’re going to hold you to a standard for a job that we removed you from.’ It makes no sense to me and is absurd on its face.”

According to district documents, certain personnel are exempt from performing the Essential Job Function Test required for battalion chiefs and every firefighter/paramedic ranked below. Those exempt include the chief, deputy chiefs, fire prevention bureau personnel and other civilian personnel working for the district.

For its part, the fire protection district claims in legal documents that Sackett’s appointment to the Fire Prevention Bureau was temporary and that he was still responsible for fulfilling all the expected physical requirements. According to the district, Sackett failed or failed to fully complete three separate physical tests from October to as recently as January of this year.

“(Sackett) was hired and is employed by the district as a firefighter/paramedic, not a fire inspector, and at all times he was expected to be able to perform the duties of the firefighter/paramedic regardless of his additional or secondary tasks with the District,” said the district in legal documents. “Because (Sackett) is a District firefighter/paramedic, he is governed by the firefighter’s collective bargaining agreement. … While (Sackett) served at the pleasure of the District Board of Trustees in the fire inspector role, he has always been considered and has always been required to be a District firefighter/paramedic.”

The district argues all previous fire inspectors prior to Sackett were considered firefighters while in the role of inspector, and fire inspectors serve at the pleasure of the board of trustees , which makes the inspector role “inherently temporary.”

Continuing to employ Sackett would also create a financial hardship for the district, as it would be paying an employee for a job they can not perform, the documents state.

Friedman said that claim is unfounded. Sackett's transfer to the bureau was actually saving the district money in overtime and paid-on-call shifts worked by Sackett.

Fire District attorney Stephen Dinolfo did not respond to Patch requests for more information. 

Friedman said if Sackett is terminated by the district, he sees no option other than the case ending up in court. 

"The district did the right thing and complied with the law by making an exception," he said. "Now they are exposing the district to hundreds of thousands of dollars in a lawsuit."