Samee Assistant City Solicitor Office of the City Solicitor 215 Pleasant Street, Suite 420 Malden, MA 02148 By email only: zsamee@cityofmalden.org RE: Open Meeting Law Complaint Dear Attorney Samee: This office received a complaint from Bruce Friedman on August 23, 2024, alleging that the Malden Licensing Board (the Board) violated the Open Meeting Law, G.L. c. 30A, 1825. 1 The complaint was originally filed with the Board on July 22, and you responded

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records November 20, 2023 SPR23/2670 Helene Bettencourt Associate Commissioner Commissioners Office Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 75 Pleasant Street Malden, MA 02148 Dear Ms.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records January 2, 2024 SPR23/2670 Helene Bettencourt Associate Commissioner Commissioners Office Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 75 Pleasant Street Malden, MA 02148 Dear Ms.

CERB, 470 Mass. 563, 565 (2015); see City of Malden, 23 MLC 181, 183 (1997). This is significant because the final rule for municipal disbursement of ARPA money requires that funds used for retention premiums be specifically designated as such, rather than used to assist municipalities in funding existing obligations. Dept of Treasury, Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Final Rule, at 184 (eff.

City of Holyoke, 35 MLC at 157; City of Malden, 5 MLC 1752, 1764, MUP- 3017 (March 20, 1979). Once the charging party establishes a prima facie case, if the employer provides lawful reasons for the alleged discriminatory conduct, the charging party must then prove that but for the protected activity, the employer would not have taken the adverse action. Trustees of Forbes Library, 384 Mass. 559, 565-566 (1981).

City of Malden, 5 MLC 1752, 1764, MUP-3017 (March 20, 1979). The Union argued at the in-person investigation that the Town issued Special Order 17-01 to discourage members from performing prisoner watch overtime. However, performance of prisoner watch overtime is not activity protected by Section 2 8 Complaint and Partial Dismissal (Contd) MUP-17-6389 of the Law.

Under the second prong of the accretion analysis, the Board examines how the parties have treated the disputed collective bargaining. position into an City of Malden, 32 MLC bargaining unit if the existing other and positions in their dealings with each at 100. parties The have Board in will not accrete a a collective executed bargaining agreement demonstrating their intent to exclude or include the petitioned-for positions, unless the job duties

City of Malden, 32 MLC 97, 100, CAS-04- 3599 (November 2, 2005) (citing City of Somerville, 24 MLC 69, 71, MCR-4517/CAS3217 (February 18,1998) (additional citations omitted)). Here, the evidence shows that the HDT shares a community of interest with both units, insofar as they have similar skills, functions, working conditions and work contact.

City of Malden, 32 12 MLC 97, 100, CAS-04-3599 (November 2, 2005). Absent bargaining history to support 13 a finding that the parties addressed and resolved the unit placement of the contested 14 position, the CERB will find that it is unable to determine whether the parties explicitly 15 agreed to exclude the contested position from the bargaining unit. Town of Somerset, 25 16 MLC 98, 100, CAS-3145 (January 6, 1999).

See City of Malden, 23 MLC 181, 183, MUP-9312, MUP-9313 (February 20, 1997) (finding that the Town and the School Committee are a single employing entity under Chapter 150E who jointly share responsibility when bargaining obligations have not been fulfilled.) The City is the employer of the bargaining unit employees and consequently, is obligated to bargain with the Union.

Although timing alone is insufficient to infer animus, see City of Malden, 5 MLC 1752, 1754, MUP-3017 (March 30, 1979), the Union also asserts that the timing coupled with the Citys conduct in the aggregate towards OToole in the last several years supports an inference of animus.