A third Algonquin Township Highway Department employee terminated by Highway Commissioner Andrew Gasser will be rehired and entitled to back pay and benefits, an arbitrator ruled Friday.
Shortly after taking his oath of office in January 2018, Gasser fired Andrew Rosencrans, former road district foreman Derek Lee and former McHenry County Board member Nick Chirikos. This prompted the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 to file grievances for all three employees.
Bryan Diemer, an attorney for Local 150, said the road district agreed to make Rosencrans whole Friday, meaning he would receive all wages and benefits entitled to him under the collective bargaining agreement. A similar outcome was ordered for Lee earlier this month.
A different arbitrator also ruled that another employee, Dan Morrison – who was fired by Gasser on Jan. 11 for violating the department’s policy prohibiting smoking on the premises – also has to be rehired.
Diemer said both parties will have to resolve the amount Rosencrans – the son-in-law of former Algonquin Township Highway Commissioner Bob Miller – will be owed.
However, the road district agreed to reinstate Rosencrans on Dec. 2, Diemer said.
An arbitrator has retained jurisdiction over the case for 90 days. If both parties can’t agree on a remedy by then, Diemer said, it will be up to the arbitrator to determine.
Diemer said an arbitration hearing for Chirikos is scheduled for
Dec. 2.
Gasser could not be reached for comment Saturday.
