"Just two months after he was honored by Palo Alto's elected leaders for nearly three decades of service, retired Fire Chief Geoffrey Blackshire has filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming the city illegally withheld wages for him for more than five years. The legal dispute revolves around a 3% wage premium Blackshire said he was supposed to receive because of his Emergency Medical Technician certification."
"The wage premium for EMT certification is called out in the city's compensation plan for the roughly 200 employees who belong to the "management and professional" group, a nonunionized group whose compensation adjustments generally align with those of other Palo Alto labor groups, according to the suit filed Jan. 7 in Santa Clara County Superior Court. "The City's conduct - spanning multiple years, payroll periods, and compensation plan renewals - was not accidental or excusable," Blackshire's complaint states."
Retired Fire Chief Geoffrey Blackshire filed a lawsuit in Santa Clara County Superior Court alleging the city withheld wages for more than five years. The suit centers on a 3% wage premium tied to Blackshire's Emergency Medical Technician certification; Blackshire was EMT certified in 1997. The complaint states the city stopped paying the premium in July 2019 when Blackshire was promoted to fire chief. The wage premium is included in the city's compensation plan for roughly 200 "management and professional" employees. The complaint seeks damages for unpaid wages, inaccurate wage statements and failure to produce employment records. Blackshire retired Oct. 31 after 28 years.
Read at San Jose Spotlight
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]