BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- Twenty-one lieutenants on the city's Fire Department vying for promotion to captain want to block more than 20 other firefighters from competing for the same position.
The 21 filed suit Wednesday in Superior Court seeking an injunction declaring their competitors ineligible for the job. A hearing on the injunction application has been scheduled for Monday.
In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs claim only they have the required time in the department to be eligible for the promotion and the suit states that the city's Civil Service Commission and personnel director have violated the city charter by extending eligibility for the promotion to anyone else.
Mayoral spokeswoman Elaine Ficarra said they would not comment on pending litigation, but would wait to resolve the case in court.
Forty-seven firefighters began earlier this week taking the promotion exam for city fire captain. The exam is to fill four positions.
The plaintiffs' lawyer, Thomas Bucci, acknowledged that it is too late to stop that promotion exam, so he said he wants to make sure no candidates other than his clients are eligible for the promotion.
The lawsuit states that City Personnel Director David Dunn determined erroneously that candidates holding the position of lieutenant for three years or more prior to Aug. 21, 2011, would be eligible for the captain exam. The plaintiffs claim that based on their calculations the eligibility date is actually Aug. 1, 2011, resulting in them being the only eligible candidates.
Copyright 2012 - Connecticut Post, Bridgeport
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
