Exclusive to theOrcasonian
||| FROM SELBY LIGHTHILL for LIGHTHILL LAW|||
A King County arbitrator issued an award today in favor of former Orcas Island Firefighter Paramedic Alex Conrad. OIFR filed suit against Mr. Conrad in January 2023 claiming breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and promissory estoppel.
The lawsuit sought over twenty-nine thousand dollars from Mr. Conrad and demanded payment of the District’s attorney fees and costs and unspecified additional damages. On the day before arbitration, the District voluntarily dismissed half of their claims against Mr. Conrad, including their demand that he pay all attorney fees.
In 2020 Mr. Conrad completed the University of Washington Harborview Medical Center paramedic training program. At the time ,then OIFR Board Chair Tim Fuller thanked Mr. Conrad for his “dedication and hard work.”
When Mr. Conrad accepted a position with Bainbridge Fire and left Orcas in 2022, the District withheld his entire final paycheck as reimbursement for the costs of the paramedic training program. The District failed to provide documentation of their calculation of the alleged debt.
Five months after Conrad left, the District claimed authority to recover up to an additional $68,243.45 in wages from Mr. Conrad; again, without providing documentation.
The arbitrator found that Orcas Fire “may not recover any further amounts from Mr. Conrad under its claim of breach,” and therefore found in favor of Mr. Conrad. The arbitrator concluded that under the Collective Bargaining Agreement “reimbursement shall be made from the employee’s final paycheck and/or severance pay” only.
- Orcas Island Fire & Rescue was represented throughout the proceedings by Matt Paxton and Aaron Haynes, CSD Attorneys at Law, Bellingham.
- Alex Conrad was represented by Selby Lighthill, Lighthill Law, Orcas Island.
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Justice is served.
Alex, you are a fine man, a great paramedic and firefighter, and it is great you were finally vindicated for leaving a hostile culture perpetuated by the leadership of OIFR.
We can only hope the culture of our fire department will ultimately align with the rural island culture of our citizens. I am remain hopeful.
Thank you Selby for keeping us updated, this would have been hidden otherwise.
Is the law firm that represented OIFR reimbursing we taxpayers for THEIR “unjust enrichment”?
What a waste…
If I understand this correctly, which the article failed to describe, was OIFR paid Alex Conrad EMS wages while he was in EMS training in Seattle, and in exchange for that taxpayer expense, he was to be an OIFR EMS employee for some period of time. He failed to stay at OIFR for whatever time he had, I assume, a contract for in return for Orcas taxpayers paying for his training and wages.
He prevails in arbitration because OIFR lawyers failed to provide documentation, and the union agreement had a clause that only the final pay check amount could be withheld as reimbursement.
If I am correct, this is the third time OIFR has paid for costly EMS training while also paying the person’s wages, and none of the three EMS trained are still with OIFR.
Question is whether this type program should be terminated because up to now, Orcas Island taxpayers are not getting what they paid for, or can a contract be put in place to have such high cost training programs have a fair reimbursement proviso if the employee leaves early or doesn’t live up to the terms of the agreement?
Please correct me if I have any facts in error.
Mr Dashiell, In answer to your question regarding the training of paramedics from the ranks of OIFR. I can think of six times we have paid for paramedic training and the person not staying long.
Seems like legal advice would be helpful.
I am grateful that OIFR has invested in local EMTs to provide the opportunity to train as paramedics, continuing their education and expanding their careers. My understanding is that the Medic One Foundation also supports this training with scholarships as well. While the hope is that local participants will return to serve this community, it can never be fully guaranteed. Many paramedics serving Orcas currently have been trained elsewhere and in some cases paid for by other communities. Having sufficient skilled paramedics benefits everyone. It is truly unfortunate that the situation with Mr. Conrad ended as it did. He served this community well both as a volunteer and as a paid responder and I am glad this painful chapter has ended for him and his family.