Mobile firefighter union weighs options after judge dismisses pay incentive lawsuit
MOBILE Ala.
November 18, 2024
A lawsuit alleging incentive pay discrepancies between Mobile firefighters and police was dismissed Friday.
The lawsuit was initially filed in 2022 by the International Association of Firefighters which represents the Mobile Fire-Rescue Department.
The suit alleged that the City of Mobile was illegally offering pay incentives to Mobile police that were not being offered to firefighters due to state law requiring equal pay plans for each department.
Mayor Sandy Stimpson said a recent overhaul of the city’s pay plan made the union’s argument “moot.”
In September, the city approved the 2025 fiscal budget overhauling the previous public safety pay plan to curtail issues that prompted litigation from the union.
Local 1349 of the IAFF issued a statement following the judge’s decision stating they were disappointed in the ruling.
The union said the decision still left “substantial issues” unresolved and indicated they were weighing their options regarding the ruling.
“The new pay plan increased the pay of most of the woefully underpaid public safety employees and we are gratified our efforts with this lawsuit led to that outcome,” the statement read.
“However, the new pay plan is not without issues which we will continue to evaluate as that plan is implemented.
With respect to the dismissal, the Union has a number of options including accepting the court’s decision, appealing that decision, or even instituting new litigation. No decision has been made but we will carefully consider our options in the near future.”
Stimpson said the new plan ended the city’s practice of offering incentives as a means to address problems with prior public safety pay plans.
According to the city, the new baseline salary for new employees at the Mobile Police Department and the Mobile Fire-Rescue Department will be $51,402.
“This incredible team effort ended decades of using a patchwork of incentives to fix an inadequate pay plan for our police officers and firefighters,” Stimpson said.
“After this new pay plan took effect in September, the issue at the heart of the fire labor union’s lawsuit became a moot point. We are glad that the court agreed and ordered the case to be dismissed.”
Al.com
