BY MIKE NOLTING
The Morgantown Fire Civil Service Commission heard at least six hours of testimony in the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 313 claim of retaliation from the city over new personnel rules.
The new personnel rules were developed after changes following a GovHR wage and benefit study commissioned by council in an effort to create fair and equitable employment policies. Morgantown City Manager Kim Haws said the result of the study should have been pay increases.
Firefighters say they see pay decreases.
The commission denied a motion by Ryan Simonton, Kay Casto & Chaney representing the city, to continue the hearing because the case is in federal court. The commission also denied an attempt to quash all subpoenas issued by attorney for the firefighters, Josh Miller with Torieseva Law.
IAFF Local 313 President Mitchell Beall said the claim is made on behalf of 48 Morgantown firefighters who said personnel rules enacted July 1 have resulted in reductions in pay and benefits. Also, the personnel actions were taken after firefighters took legal action to recover holiday backpay in 2019.
“We feel we are reduced in pay, so we look at it that the Fire Civil Service Commission has jurisdiction to at least hear that case,” Beall said.
Morgantown City Manager Kim Haws testified that the Master Firefighter classification (Firefighters with more than 10 years of service), shift differential, longevity pay and hazard pay no longer show up as line items on paystubs, but those amounts were rolled into the base pay for each firefighter.
Miller raised a question with how employees earn paid time off, citing a 40-hour per week employee can earn 360 hours of paid time off in a year, but a firefighter who works a 56-hour week and is not allowed to earn 30% more time off.
“Once again, we’re trying to create a situation and a culture within the city that everybody is equal,” Haws said in testimony.
“We see that any city employee can take time off and not get reduced in pay,” Beall said. “If we take our time off we are reduced in pay.”
Haws said policy changes have been made after receiving input from employees, department heads and consultants from GovHR. Additional changes will be made as needed, according to Haws.
“Actually, understand what the root of the problem is and then ultimately make a determining factor on what the case is,” Beall said.
Beall said the firefighters are seeing the differences in their pay whether it’s acknowledged by the city or not.
“Any of us can tell you what we make on a weekly basis or bi-weekly basis and be able to show we are losing money,” Beall said.
The hearing was continued until 9:45 p.m. Nov. 16 and is expected to include testimony from members of Morgantown City Council, Assistant City Manager Emily Muzzarelli and Kathy Pineault from the Morgantown Human Resources Department.
