He says he was already doing the job when a new list bumped him down

A Philadelphia firefighter says the city denied him a promotion to captain that he had already earned - because he is white.

The lieutenant, a fire paramedic with more than 17 years of service, sued the City of Philadelphia and its fire department on August 10, 2026, in federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. According to the complaint, he also named the department's fire commissioner and its deputy fire commissioner for EMS as defendants, seeking to hold them personally liable. His claims fall under Title VII, Section 1981, and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act.

At the center of the case is a promotion the complaint says was effectively locked in.

The lieutenant took the civil service test for captain in 2022 and placed eighth on the resulting eligibility list, the filing states. By mid-2024, everyone ranked above him had been promoted, putting him, as the complaint puts it, "first in line." He was already carrying the workload, serving as acting captain of the department's mobile integrated healthcare unit for four to five months. His promotion, the filing says, was announced internally among high levels of leadership, with assurances it would be finalized "by no later than October 31, 2024." He alleges he "was assured this was conclusive."

Then, according to the complaint, the ground shifted. A new civil service eligibility list went out in the weeks before the deadline. It "showed...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMi2gFBVV95cUxQSndFVDFJSUI4dGZnY3o3TlVQ...