"We can't just sit back and do nothing, because this is going to have a devastating ripple effect," said Raymond Sneed, president of the of the District chapter of the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF). "It's not just firefighters. Everyone in public safety and everyone who works shift work is threatened by this."
Sneed made his comments on Dec. 10 following the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland issued an opinion Dec. 8 in support of an earlier ruling against Lanham resident Gerald Burton. Burton, a former volunteer at the Kentland fire station and currently a member of the District of Columbia Fire Department, was denied joint custody of his two children in July 2001, because he did not follow through with a pledge to change his work schedule.
Burton and his ex-wife, Diedre Burton of Hyattsville, were originally granted dual custody of their 7-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter when the couple divorced in June 2000. But Prince George's County Circuit Court Judge Larnzell Martin Jr. said the arrangement depended on Gerald Burton's promise to change a duty schedule that required him to work 24 hours one day and then take three days off--the routine shift plan for District firefighters.
Martin withdrew the custody order a year later, however, when he learned that Burton was still working on the "24 (hours on)/ 72 (hours off)" plan.
Burton subsequently appealed his case to a state court in Annapolis and a hearing was held Jan. 22, 2001. The three-judge panel released a decision last week that upheld Martin's earlier order that rescinded joint custody due to Burton's unfulfilled schedule change.
"The trial judge clearly and repeatedly stated that he believed Mr. Burton's 24/72 work schedule was too disruptive for the Burton children," the appellate opinion stated. "The trial judge found that it was not in the best interests of the children to be placed in the care of a parent whose employer has the ability to demand that he work according to his published 24/72 schedule."
Burton said during an interview with The Gazette that he accepted the judges' decision, yet disagreed with the outcome of the case.
"It's not just about Gerald Burton," Burton said last week. "This is going to affect other people in shift work."
Diedre Burton said the case was less about her husband's job than it was about his failure to follow court orders.
"The whole case was based on the fact that there was inaccurate testimony given by [her ex-husband]," Diedre Burton said in a recent phone interview.
Judge Martin said declined comment on the opinion, because of possible appeal of his original ruling.
"We [judges] do the best we can," Martin said. "We decide the cases and we don't become involved in debates about any meanings other people might assign to what took place."
However, Sneed said both Martin and the appellate court based their decisions on work schedules that Burton and other firefighters are required to cover.
"It looks like shift work has everything to do with it," Sneed said. "The shift work is the deciding factor as to whether you have joint custody of your kids."
Sneed, who lives in Lanham, said he plans to send a letter to the international office of the IAFF requesting legal and lobbying assistance from the organization. Sneed said he wants federal lawmakers to establish legal protections for all public safety workers who are concerned about child custody.
"The thing that is so frightening is that it is something that would affect people who work shift work everywhere," Sneed said.
Burton said he has yet to decided whether to appeal his case to the state court of appeals, the highest court in Maryland.
