Judge Says Attleboro Firefighter Unfairly Fired

A Massachusetts Superior Court judge recently upheld a 2011 decision by the state Civil Services Commission stating an Attleboro firefighter/EMT was unfairly fired in 2009 and must be reinstated.

The three-page court decision (which is attached) was issued last month and appeared this week on the Civil Service Commission's website.

Firefighter William Dunn was suspended and later fired in 2009 after he was seen on video tape working and performing physical duties for his maintenance business while being on paid disability with the city of Attleboro for a knee injury. The Civil Service Commission determined last year that Dunn's injury was legitimate and he was seeking proper treatment in hope of returning to work with the city. Judge D. Lloyd Macdonald agreed.

"The commission reasonably concluded that there was no objective factual basis to the proposition that Dunn, in fact, had misrepresented his condition [to the city]," Macdonald wrote.

Dunn was rehired by the city last year after ordered to do so by the commission, but he remains on disability. His annual salary is $51,852, according to the 2012-13 municipal budget.

This court decision could be further appealed.