The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas —More than half of Irving’s firefighters are suing the city over a salary program they say violated state law by creating inequity in how they were paid for longevity and seniority.
“As a result, fire fighters in all ranks were accorded radically different treatment of their seniority for pay purposes,” the lawsuit says.
More than 125 firefighters listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit are seeking an unspecified amount of back pay and benefits, plus attorneys’ fees.
Craig Deats, an Austin attorney representing the firefighters, did not return phone calls seeking comment this week. Phone calls to the Irving Professional Firefighters’ Association were not answered.
Irving Mayor Herbert Gears said a group of firefighters and city attorneys have been unable for years to resolve disputes over the pay system. Gears said he does not believe the city erred in its 2005 implementation of a salary program based on 11 pay grades for each position.
“It’s always our desire to comply with the statutes, and we think that we have in this case,” Gears said.
The lawsuit alleges that the plan created a situation in which firefighters across all ranks reached their maximum pay grade with vastly different levels of experience.
In several examples laid out in the suit, those promoted after the new program was implemented allegedly reached the maximum pay grade possible with far fewer years of experience than colleagues promoted or hired before the program began.
For instance, some firefighters who were lieutenants before the system started didn’t reach the maximum pay level until they had served seven to 17 years in their roles. But, the lawsuit says, other firefighters in that rank reached the maximum pay level after serving less than 31/2 years.
The suit says that firefighters promoted to or hired as captains under the program reached the maximum pay level after 21/2 of experience. Meanwhile, those with more than a decade of experience as a captain didn’t hit the maximum until they had 11 or more years.
“As illustrated above in the Captain rank, the disparities were so great that fire fighters with as much as 28 years more in rank were accorded the same seniority step increase given to less senior officers,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit also alleges that firefighters were not given equal treatment in regard to where in the program they were initially placed. It also accuses the city of not complying with its own rules to wait six months after a new hire or promotion occurred before bumping firefighters up an additional pay level in some cases.
A city spokeswoman this week said the city went back to an eight-step pay program for civil service employees last year. Gears said that move was aimed at hiring new police officers at a higher amount.
Copyright 2009 The Dallas Morning News