ATLANTA --
Channel 2 Action News has learned promotions for 40 Atlanta firefighters are on hold while the department investigates allegations of cheating.
Three firefighters filed a lawsuit accusing some of their colleagues of cheating on a promotion test, according to Channel 2's John Bachman.
A judge issued a temporary restraining order on Wednesday, halting the promotion of 40 lieutenants. The firefighters who filed the suit asked city officials to look for test irregularities, but a human resources investigation found no problems, according to Bachman.
"What this shows is suspicions of irregularities on the test were not unreasonable and the city's investigation to dispel those suspicions was insufficient," union spokesman Jim Daws said about the judges ruling.
A spokesman for the Atlanta Fire Department told Bachman that the city's investigation found the integrity of the process intact, however Daws disagrees.
"The department is within its rights to defend the process and we'll let courts complete this investigation which we wish had been done more properly by the city to begin with," said Daws.
Many of the firefighters waiting for a promotion are members of the union, according to Daws. "What we're very concerned about is that people who've raised these questions not be retaliated against in any way," Daws told Bachman. A fire department spokesman says the promotion delays would not impact service to residents.
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