COURT OVERTURNS SUSPENSION OF CAMBRIDGE WORKERAuthor: BY SACHA PFEIFFER, GLOBE STAFFThe state Appeals Court ruled yesterday that the City of Cambridge erred when it suspended a public works employee because of vulgar remarks he made to a city meter maid while off-duty, saying there was no evidence that his conduct affected his job performance. Ronald Baldasaro was suspended for 60 days and demoted from his position as a heavy equipment operator after he verbally attacked a meter maid who asked him to move his illegally parked car. Baldasaro, chief steward for a 320-person union composed mainly of laborers, clerks and parking officers, was disciplined after city officials concluded that his conduct reflected poorly on the city and created a hostile work environment. The Civil Service Commission reversed the city's decision, ruling that there was "no nexus between Baldasaro's off-duty conduct and his fitness to perform his work for the city." City officials then appealed to Superior Court, which affirmed the commission's decision. And yesterday the Appeals Court upheld the lower court ruling, ruling the city had not "cited a violation of a work rule as justification for [Baldasaro's] suspension and demotion." The Appeals Court also wrote that Baldasaro "sustained his burden of showing that there was no significant correlation between his conduct and his continuing fitness to perform his job." |