Careers & Education

Ex-TX Firefighter Sues for Alleged Civil Service Violations

May 17, 2019

In his lawsuit, the former Haltom City battalion chief accuses the city of not following the proper procedures when he appealed his firing from the department last August.

By Elizabeth Campbell

Source Fort Worth Star-Telegram

A former firefighter is suing Haltom City alleging that civil service procedures were not followed when he appealed his termination.

Joe Williamson, who worked for the fire department from 1993 until he was terminated in August of 2018, wants to be reinstated to his position as battalion chief and is also seeking back pay from September 13, 2018 until the present.

Wayne Olson, an attorney representing Haltom City, could not be reached for comment. Rob Ghio, an attorney representing Williamson, said he could not comment without his client’s permission.

According to the lawsuit, in December of 2017, former Fire Chief Perry Bynum placed Williamson on paid administrative leave after a complaint was filed by a subordinate.

Details of the complaints were not in the lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, a seven-month-long investigation was conducted, and Williamson received a letter from Bynum on Aug. 1 outlining disciplinary actions. Williamson was given 48 hours to respond to the letter, and he submitted a written response and met with Bynum, according to court documents.

But on Aug. 3, Williamson was terminated and he did not get an explanation of the charges against him, according to the suit.

The suit accuses the city of failing to schedule the Civil Service hearing within 30 days of Williamson appealing his suspension.

Haltom City’s human resources director, Toni Beckett did not contact Williamson’s attorney until Sept. 21 to propose dates in November, but four hours later she rescinded the dates without offering new ones, according to court documents.

When Williamson’s attorney contacted Beckett to ask about the hearing request, she responded that it had been filed but did not provide the request or extension for another week.

According to court documents, it appeared that the documents were “back-dated.”

Because the hearing was never held, Williamson contends that the Civil Service Commission no longer has jurisdiction in his case, and that he should be reinstated with back pay.

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