City officials fired firefighter Matt Cooper in the middle of his shift Tuesday evening after a state judge denied his request to keep working in spite of the city's anti-nepotism policy.
Cooper, 25, became the son-in-law of fire captain Herbie Lowery by marrying his daughter in June -- too close to be working in the same department, according to city policy.
Cooper was given a 30-day grace period after his wedding. As that time came to a close, he filed a lawsuit asking for a restraining order that would allow him to keep his job as litigation continued. A federal judge granted a 10-day extension July 15, and the issue was sent to state court.
Circuit Court Judge John Hayes III dissolved the temporary restraining order Tuesday and refused to stop the city from firing Cooper. In a written opinion, Hayes said the likelihood of successfully overturning the city policy was "minimal."
"The City's anti-nepotism policy is clear, does not appear to violate any of Cooper's asserted rights and the City has an absolute right to terminate any employee at will for any reason or no reason at all," Hayes wrote.
The city will be interviewing candidates to fill Cooper's position, city manager Carey Smith said at a news conference.
"This effectively ends this situation as far as the city is concerned," Smith said. "We felt that the policy was legal in every respect all along."
Jane Schultz, spokeswoman for the International Association of Fire Fighters, said the organization would continue to pursue litigation against the city, though it hadn't decided on what grounds.
Cooper said he's not sure where he'll look for work, but it'll be somewhere with a less stringent nepotism policy.
"I'm standing up for what I believe in, that's never going to change," he said.
Distributed by the Associated Press
Related Articles:
- Federal Judge Sends Firefighter Nepotism Case Back to South Carolina State Court
- South Carolina Firefighter Expected in Court in Battle for Job
- Court Grants South Carolina Firefighter Job Extension
- South Carolina City Orders Firefighter to Quit Job Over Marriage
- South Carolina Firefighter Weds, Faces Job Loss
- Rock Hill, South Carolina Officials Ready to Fire Man Over Marriage
