Fired union boss says he’s inching toward getting job back after Broward sheriff’s appeal is dismissed

The outspoken former union president who was fired by Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony said he could be inching closer to getting his job back.

On Wednesday, an appeals court dismissed Tony’s appeal to reverse the Public Employees Relations Commission ruling that said former union president Jeff Bell should be allowed back to work and that the Sheriff’s Office should no longer investigate Bell for alleged wrongdoings.

In 2020, Tony suspended Bell with pay, alleging that the leader of the deputies’ union had conducted himself in an unbecoming manner. Bell was accused of lack of truthfulness, corrupt practices, and abuse of discretion, and an internal affairs investigation began.

The suspension came days after Bell blasted Tony in a South Florida Sun Sentinel opinion article in which he criticized the lack of protective equipment for deputies at the beginning of the COVID pandemic. Bell was fired in 2022.

Bell’s former attorney Gary Lippman, who is no longer representing the International Union of Police Associations and is not authorized to speak about the case on behalf of the agency, called the court’s decision “seismic.”

He said it sends a message to public employers, including teachers and firefighters, that it won’t be permissible to “pay off” union leaders by sending them home with pay to “isolate them” from continuing to advocate, while saying they hadn’t been fired and “avoiding the consequences of that retaliation.”

Said Bell: “It’s one giant step toward the finish line.”

A spokeswoman for the Sheriff’s Office did not comment Friday other than to respond “no” when asked if Bell would be returning to the agency.

Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Twitter @LisaHuriash