ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – An arbiter rejected an Ashwaubenon Public Safety officer’s grievance challenging a letter in file critiquing his actions for wearing a thong on a golf course while at a golf outing.
Officer Jamie Zynda received the letter after the August, 2018 event organized by the Fraternal Order of Police. Video and photos of him in a thong circulated on social media. The Ashwaubenon Public Safety Officers’ Association filed a grievance.
In the 14-page decision, Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission arbitrator Raleigh Jones ruled in the village’s favor.
The ruling rejects the argument that because Zynda was off-duty, the village’s letter was inappropriate. “First, this golf outing was a law enforcement outing; most of those present were members of area law enforcement or their invited guests. Because of that, it is likely that those in attendance knew the identities and affiliations of the other attendees. Second, an APSD Community Services Officer (CSO) was assigned to work at the golf outing. Third, the APSD provided an all-terrain vehicle for the event that was operated by the CSO. That vehicle was identified as an APSD vehicle. Fourth, the record shows that these financial contributions by the APSD and the Village to the annual FOP golf outing had been ongoing for the last ten years. When these factors are considered collectively, they outweigh the Association’s claim that the golf outing at issue here involved strictly off-duty, private conduct,” the ruling states.
And while the incident was a joke, the village appropriately instructed Zynda to review department policies on anti-harassment and dress code.
“As previously noted, I’m persuaded that Zynda stripped down to his thong for comedic affect. He thought it was funny. While his opinion was shared by the others in his foursome, that was not the viewpoint of the Village Manager. She thought that what Zynda had done was problematic because it had the potential to harm the Department’s reputation, image and credibility. For the reasons expounded on below, I concur with her, and find that Zynda’s thong stunt was, in a word, inappropriate. Simply put, it should not have occurred at this particular outing because it was an extension of the workplace. Prior to the issuance of the letter, Zynda thought it was acceptable for him to tee off in a thong at a FOP golf outing. He now knows otherwise,” he wrote.
The ruling concludes the village acted appropriately.
“The letter of direction issued to Officer Jamie Zynda did not constitute formal discipline Even if the letter of direction issued to Zynda constituted formal discipline, the Village did not violate the CBA, or deviate from, misinterpret or misapply any policy or practice relating to conditions of employment when it issued that letter to Zynda and placed it in his personnel file. Therefore, the grievance is denied,” Jones wrote.
