Court sides with police union

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.omaha.com/article/20111105/NEWS97/711059884#court-sides-with-police-union

Published Saturday November 5, 2011

By Joe Duggan
World-Herald bureau

LINCOLN — When wearing the badge, police officers can trade bullets with bank robbers or redline their cruisers in pursuit of the getaway car.

But if they test their skills in a mixed martial arts cage or atop an ATV while off duty, their employers increasingly don't want to provide their health insurance.

That's at the heart of a dispute between the City of Scottsbluff and the local police union that ended Friday in the Nebraska Supreme Court. The high court released a split opinion that said cities must let union members collectively bargain over the sorts of risky, off-duty activities that can be excluded by a health insurance plan.

"It is prudent public policy for the city to control insurance costs," the majority opinion stated. "Employees certainly have an interest in that as well. But employees also have an interest in enjoying the full range of hobbies and recreational activities that any citizen is entitled to pursue, including many that might involve 'risk-taking,' such as skiing, water sports or martial arts."

While it's not unusual for municipal health insurance policies to exclude coverage for hazardous hobbies such as skydiving and bungee jumping, in 2009 Scottsbluff expanded the list of activities that it wouldn't cover. The new list excluded things like ultimate fighting, riding all-terrain vehicles and traveling to countries under an advisory warning.

The city announced the change after it had negotiated a labor contract with its police union, which has 33 members. Union members, including several who practiced mixed martial arts, sought to renegotiate, but the city refused. The police union then refused to sign the contract after it was approved by the city council.

FULL story at link.