When a paid fire department and its employer disagree about pay, work hours, or working conditions, either side can ask for arbitration — meaning a neutral group will help settle the fight. To ask for arbitration, workers need a written request signed by at least 51% of fire department employees, or the government body in charge of the fire department can pass a resolution asking for it. This only applies to fire departments in areas with more than 20,000 people or in a first class county.
Note: Courts have held this law unenforceable as applied to certain constitutional-charter cities (1968).
290.350. Request for , when, how made — to be appointed. — Whenever a dispute exists concerning wages, hours of labor, or conditions of of members of a paid fire of any county, city, town, , or other governmental unit having a population in excess of twenty thousand or located in a , and a request for arbitration is made by either to the dispute, a firemen's shall be appointed as provided in sections 290.350 to 290.380. Request for arbitration may be made by written signed by at least fifty-one percent of the employees of the fire department or by of the , council, board, or other having direction and control over the fire department.
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Source & history notes
(L. 1963 p. 415 § 1) (1968) As applied to constitutional charter cities, §§ 290.350 and 290.360 are unconstitutional and void as imposing duties upon a municipal officer. State ex rel. Burke v. Cervantes, 423 S.W.2d 791 (Mo.).
Related Missouri laws
Board members
RSMo 290.360
Penalty for violation
RSMo 290.340
Notice of violation, failure to comply, attorney general shall sue, injunctive relief authorized
RSMo 290.335
Hearing and recommendations of board
RSMo 290.370
Convicted violators of sections 290.210 to 290.340 listed, effect of
RSMo 290.330
Awarding contract or payment without wage rate determination prohibited
RSMo 290.325
Legal information, not legal advice. Always confirm with the official source at revisor.mo.gov.