Algonquin Township Highway Commissioner Andrew Gasser Wins Round In Labor Dispute

CRYSTAL LAKE – Is the highway department the same as the road district? To residents who pay taxes, the answer might seem simple. To the lawyer representing Algonquin Township Highway Commissioner Andrew Gasser in a labor case that has generated thousands of dollars in legal fees, the question was more important than the answer. It’s the reason the road boss will get his day in court. The Illinois Labor Relations Board on Monday rejected a judge’s ruling and order for Gasser to rehire the three employees the highway commissioner fired on his first day on the job, according to court records. After months of back-and-forth court filings from Gasser’s attorney, Robert Hanlon, and lawyers for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150, the ruling came down as to whether the “highway department” is the same entity as the “road district.” Although the board commented in a court filing that Hanlon’s arguments about the difference separating the two entities were “not persuasive,” the board concluded that the complaint form was not served on the proper entity – the Algonquin Township Road District. “Although the exceptions are not particularly persuasive on the issue of whether the highway department and the road district are separate and distinct entities,” the filing says, “...