Highway Patrol trooper reinstated after being fired a year ago for sharing a workplace climate survey with the union | Law Enforcement Today

HELENA, MT - The Department of Justice (DOJ) has been ordered to reinstate a Montana Highway Patrol trooper it fired in April of 2024 after the officer shared a workplace climate survey with union staff.

According to KTVQ, the survey that the trooper shared with the union included results that showed low morale and other problems within the culture of the department. Former Trooper Alicia Bragg, union president at the time, provided a copy of the survey results to her field consultant and was subsequently fired for it.

The decision read, in part, "The evidence showed clearly that (Bragg) was getting multiple communications from MHP officers about the survey, its security and anonymity, as well as possible retaliation. This is precisely the sort of communications that falls squarely within the union's purview whether there are active negotiations ongoing or not."

The decision, which came on April 5th, nearly a near after Bragg being fired, followed arbitration hearings that took place in December 2024. During those hearings, the arbitrator found Bragg was wrongfully terminated and ordered the DOJ to reinstate her with full back pay and accrued benefits. 

Arbitrator Jeffrey Jacobs said the union was correct in stating Bragg had rightfully acted within her role as local union president by communicating about a public survey with union staff. Jacobs said, "The inescapable conclusion is that (Bragg) was acting in her capacity as the union president when she sent the document to the union. While the survey may have been somewhat embarrassing to the MHP, that alone did not render her action terminable."

The decision said Bragg had to be reinstated within 10 days and it said there was no basis for any discipline at all. The decision said, "The state made much of (Bragg's) comments that she would do this again and claimed that she showed no remorse. Remorse is not the issue here. She acted within her scope as the union president."

On Tuesday, April 8th, when she received the call that the union had won her case, she said she cried tears of joy and relief. She said the result made her feel supported. Bragg is currently employed by the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Office. She said, "I've waited nearly a year for this response."

In firing Bragg, the MHP argued that members of a small committee had received the survey and had been ordered not to distribute it, adding that Bragg disobeyed that order. The arbitrator, though, found that she acted correctly in the scope of her role with the union. The decision said, "It was clear though from her record that this directive was very different from one that she might receive in her role as a trooper. There is no evidence that (Bragg) would disobey an order regarding her operational functions in the field."

In a statement at the time of her firing, Bragg said that she was terminated for doing her job "as a trooper who loves serving my state and as a union president who's fiercely loyal to my fellow law enforcement officers. She added, "Senior leaders at MHP and DOJ tried to sanitize and slow roll a public workplace climate survey that reflected poorly on their leadership, and I stood up for troopers."

Bragg, who had worked at the highway patrol for a decade, said she couldn't comment on whether she would be interested in reinstatement. However, she said she is working with the union on figuring out restoration of back pay.