Youngstown firefighter sues city after not qualifying for promotional exam

YOUNGSTOWN — The International Association of Firefighters Local 312 is suing the city on behalf of a fire captain who is not being permitted to take a promotional exam.

To qualify for the battalion chief exam, applicants must have served as captain in the Youngstown Fire Department for at least a year.

Capt. Courtney Kelly was promoted to her current position on July 21, 2018, but was demoted when the department eliminated a fire company on Oct. 13, 2018. She was promoted back to captain on Dec. 21, 2020.

By Saturday (Aug. 21), when the test is scheduled, Kelly will have served as captain for a total of 10 months and three weeks. The union is seeking a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction and declaratory and injunctive relief to keep city officials from proceeding with the exam.

The union argues Kelly's promotion was delayed by litigation stemming from the city's decision to eliminate three battalion chief positions in 2019. The case is pending before the Seventh District Court of Appeals after the State Employment Relations Board ordered the city to reconstitute the positions.

Jeff Moliterno, the city's former assistant law director, said the ongoing legal situation "does not change Kelly's actual lack of time served in rank," according to the lawsuit.

The firefighters union is asking the court to delay the exam until Kelly would be eligible.

The city and the union are also in the midst of negotiating a new contract; the most recent collective bargaining agreement expired in May.

Both parties rejected a fact-finder's contract recommendation earlier this summer.

This story was originally published August 19, 2021 at 4:25 AM with the headline "Youngstown firefighter sues city after not qualifying for promotional exam."