MORGANTOWN — Morgantown firefighters have issued a vote of no confidence in the new city manager and say they will file additional lawsuits for retaliation.
Attorney Teresa Toriseva said 52 of the firefighters would be filing additional lawsuits.
“The professional firefighters of the IAFF 313 will not be intimidated by the illegal, aggressive, and retaliatory tactics of Mr. Haws and the City of Morgantown," Toriseva said in a news release. "We will be filing additional lawsuits by 52 professional firefighters for illegal pay reduction, violations of civil service, retaliation by a city official in his official capacity, and more. It is clear that the City would rather pay litigation costs than pay firefighters what they are owed."
The firefighters believe they are being retaliated against by the city manager for refusing an offer in an earlier lawsuit.
The firefighters work 24-hour shifts and for 35 years they were paid a shift differential, which was a small enhancement on their hourly pay when their work fell on afternoon or midnight shift. The shift differential was referenced on the paperwork that discussed job benefits and compensation.
In June 2019, the firefighters filed a lawsuit against Morgantown over a holiday pay issue and the city admitted it was wrong and agreed to fix the issue going forward, but refused to pay back holiday pay for the last five years, so the firefighters refused to accept the city's offer.
Six weeks later, the new city manager, Kim Haws, canceled the shift differential pay for firefighters. The firefighters believe it is a retaliatory strike against firefighters for turning down the offer.
During the litigation, Toriseva said the West Virginia Legislature had set a holiday pay enhancement for firefighters all over the state.
“But there is a big problem in the way the holiday pay is being calculated for firefighters in numerous cities across West Virginia," Toriseva said previously said to The West Virginia Record. "The miscalculation of pay by municipalities, including Morgantown, is causing firefighters to be paid less than what is actually owed, year after year, for each firefighter. This lawsuit seeks lost wages and asks the court to stop the ongoing problem.”
