Your Rights When Questioned by OHSU Police

There have been two recent cases at OHSU that have raised concerns about how OHSU is interpreting our members’ right to representation when they are questioned by police, including OHSU’s own campus police.

In these recent cases, OHSU Police approached members on the job, escorted them off their work units to another location and proceeded to question the members about on-the-job conduct. In neither case was the member given the contractually required 36-hour notice of an investigative meeting nor advised of their “Garrity Rights.”

Garrity Rights get their name from a court case (Garrity v. New Jersey) that protects public employees from self-incrimination when they are questioned about a criminal matter by their employer. Because of this case, as an OHSU employee, if you are ordered to answer questions by OHSU about potentially criminal behavior, your answers cannot be used against you to prosecute a crime.

Unfortunately, there is some dispute between OHSU and AFSCME Local 328 as to the degree of protection provided by Garrity Rights:

• OHSU’s position is that its officers are acting as police and are not conducting a work-related investigative interview as defined by our contract, so there is no need to provide notice or allow a union representative to be present.

• Our union’s position is that OHSU officers’ police role cannot be separated from their status as an agent of the employer.

We will sort this out eventually. In the meantime, if you are relieved of your duties by an OHSU police officer and questioned by an officer, you should do the following:

Ask if this is an internal investigation dealing with non-criminal, work-related conduct.

1. If the answer is “yes,” assert your right to 36 hours’ notice and the right to have a union representative with you before you answer questions.

2. If the answer is “no,” ask if this is a criminal matter where you could be charged.

   • If the officer states that it is a criminal matter, you should decline to answer questions until you have had an opportunity to seek legal counsel.

   • If the officer states that it is not a criminal matter, ask if the officer is requesting a statement or wants to interview you as a witness. If you are ordered to answer questions as a witness, you should comply. If you are not ordered to answer questions and don’t feel comfortable doing so, call our union.

You have rights under our contract and under the law. When those rights overlap, finding your way through the maze can be challenging. Remember: being questioned by an OHSU police officer means that you are being investigated for either (a) work-related reasons or (b) criminal reasons. In either case you have a right to be represented. Your safest course if you end up in this situation is to continue to assert your right to be represented — either by our union or by legal counsel, depending on the situation — before answering questions.