In Docket No. 2023-435, the Jefferson Parish Firefighters Association, Local 1374 ("Union") filed a request for Declaratory Opinion with the Board in May 2023. The Board held a hearing on the request at its November 2023 meeting. A Declaratory Opinion was issued on March 8, 2024. The Board held that the Union's receipt of dues in exchange for providing legal representation to Union members before the Jefferson Parish Fire Civil Service Commission, while Craig Burkett served as Vice President of the Union and an appointed member of the Civil Service Commission. The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Board's Declaratory Opinion, with the Supreme Court denying supervisory writs.
On August 9, 2024, the Union filed suit in the Eastern District of Louisiana, alleging Section 1983 civil rights violations, as well as seeking an injunction to prohibit enforcement of the Board's Declaratory Opinion. The Attorney General's office filed a Motion to Dismiss, which was denied by the District Court in April 2025. The District Court also granted a Preliminary Injunction against the Board. An appeal was heard by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on April 29, 2026. The 5th Circuit issued an opinion vacating the preliminary injunction and remanding the matter to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction.
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