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PARKERSBURG -- A judge ruled this week that Parkersburg improperly reduced the pay of some firefighters when trying to correct what city officials described as an error calculating salary.
Monday's ruling came more than three years after the suit was filed on behalf of firefighters Joshua Gandee, Wayne White and Michael Wood, saying the city cut the rate of compensation for longevity and emergency medical technician certification in 2017. Attorneys for the city argued the pay should have been reduced when many firefighters' shifts went from 48- to 54-hour weeks in 2011.
But in his ruling, Wood County Circuit Court Judge Robert Waters said the employees earned the since-discontinued longevity increases at 25 cents an hour rather than 22.22, while the 37-cents-an-hour rate city officials said was correct for the EMT certification on 54-hour shifts is not spelled out in the ordinance establishing that incentive.
The city had argued the intention of the longevity pay, in effect from 2008 to 2011 and still paid to those who received it during that time, was to provide employees an additional $624 annually for each year worked for the city. As such, the hourly rate was 25 cents per year for firefighters on a 48-hour shift and should have been 22.22 cents for those working 54, the defense said.
By the same token, the city argued 37 cents an hour was the appropriate EMT certification rate for those working 54-hour shifts, not the 42 cents an hour implemented for shifts covering 48 hours.
"The actions of the City of Parkersburg constituted a reduction in the Plaintiffs' wages," the order from Waters said. "The pay reductions were made without written notification of changes to pay practice."
It orders the city to reinstate the 25-cents-an-hour-per-year-of-service rate on longevity and the 42-cents-an-hour rate for EMT certification for all eligible firefighters working 54-hour shifts.
"We are evaluating the order and considering our options, which may include an appeal to the West Virginia Supreme Court," Mayor Tom Joyce said.
Earlier this year, both sides filed cross motions seeking summary judgment, agreeing to have the case decided by a judge instead of at trial, plaintiffs' attorney Walt Auvil said.
The plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment sought back pay for the three named firefighters, the amount of which has yet to be determined.
"All this has to be sorted out in terms of the three plaintiffs, because every week is a different number," Auvil said.
On Sept. 9, Auvil filed a writ of mandamus with the state Supreme Court of Appeals petitioning it to instruct Waters to issue a ruling after receiving no communication on the case since April 6, according to a copy of the petition. Waters submitted a response dated Oct. 18 saying he had entered an order and providing a copy of that order.
In the ruling, Waters notes he ordered mediation in the case multiple times and "the parties refused to mediate this case."
Auvil said the city was unwilling to budge on its stance, making mediation futile.
"They absolutely refused," he said. "The position taken by the city was that they were not willing to compromise."
This is one of three lawsuits White, the chief fire inspector, has filed against the city.
One, which challenges the way the city calculates holiday pay for firefighters, is awaiting the outcome of a separate case before the state Supreme Court that involves similar issues. The other claims city officials including Joyce and Fire Chief Jason Matthews have treated White unfairly and interfered with his ability to do his job.