Appeal of City of Portsmouth

The petitioner, the Board of Fire Commissioners of the City of Portsmouth (the fire commission), appeals the ruling of the New Hampshire Public Employee Labor Relations Board (PELRB) that a fire commissioner’s comments reported in a local newspaper were an unfair labor practice in violation of RSA 273-A:5, 1(a) and (b) (1987). The fire commission argues that the comments were an exercise of free speech protected by the State and Federal Constitutions and that the PELRB erred in interpreting RSA 273-A:5. We reverse on statutory grounds.

On May 15, 1991, at a public meeting of the fire…