Five Lincoln firefighters are suing the city over Chief Niles Ford's promotion of Capt. Jeanne Pashalek to deputy chief.
CLARENCE MABIN / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Thursday, January 24, 2008 6:00 pm
Five Lincoln firefighters are suing the city of Lincoln over Fire Chief Niles Ford’s promotion of Capt. Jeanne Pashalek to deputy chief in November.
The plaintiffs, all of whom are male, are alleging Pashalek’s promotion was not based on merit and violated their due process rights under the Nebraska constitution, as well as city ordinances prohibiting unequal treatment based on gender.
Filed this week in Lancaster County District Court, the lawsuit seeks a declaratory judgment that the promotion violated the plaintiffs’ rights. It also seeks an injunction barring the city from continued violation of those rights. Such an injunction apparently would reverse Pashalek’s promotion.
Ford, who became the Lincoln fire chief in October, has said Pashalek, a 29-year-veteran, was the most qualified person for the post. He could not be reached for comment Friday.
The plaintiffs include Guy Pinkman, Brett Davis, Steven Dolezal and Michael Hohbein, all of whom are identified as captains in the lawsuit, and Dustin Morton.
In the suit, they claim, among other things, that they ranked higher than Pashalek on the department’s promotional list.
Dana Roper, the Lincoln city attorney, said Friday his office had not been served with the lawsuit, and he declined comment.
Don Taute, personnel director for the city, said city administrators assess employees’ eligibility for promotion based on written tests, which include multiple choice and essay questions.
Test results, along with seniority and the evaluations of job interviews, can figure into promotion decisions that, in the Fire Department, are ultimately made by the chief, Taute said.
“By the Defendant’s own rating system and promotional procedure, the Plaintiffs were more qualified than Fire Captain Pashalek,” John Corrigan, attorney for the plaintiffs, said in the lawsuit.
Corrigan of Omaha said in an interview Friday the “objective qualifications” of all five plaintiffs — measured in part, he said, by the job experience of the candidates — were superior to those of Pashalek.
According to the lawsuit, Pinkman logged 3,960 hours as acting deputy chief prior to November. Davis had been an acting chief since 1996, amassing more than 6,000 hours, the suit said.
Morton had been an acting deputy chief since about January 2000, and Dolezal an acting deputy chief for three years prior to his interview for the position in October, the lawsuit said. Hohbein has 498 hours as acting deputy chief, Corrigan said in the lawsuit.
Pashalek had 17 hours of experience acting as a deputy chief before her promotion, the attorney said in the lawsuit.
“All of them (the plaintiffs) had hundreds and hundreds of hours more doing the job as deputy chief,” Corrigan said.
Reach Clarence Mabin at 473-7234 or cmabin@journalstar.com.