Tag Archives: merit testing

A lawsuit challenging changes to the promotional process within the Stamford Fire Department, has been settled. Lieutenants Kevin Dingle and Bruce Wagoner, and firefighters Robert Pickering and Brian Whitbread filed the suit in 2018 challenging the city’s use of rounding and/or banding scores on promotional exams in 2017.

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A US District Court judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit brought by an FDNY deputy assistant chief who was denied a promotion for refusing to renounce letters to the editor he wrote decades ago relative to merit based testing. Even more interestingly, Judge Brian M. Cogan suggested that the proper First Amendment analysis for the case is not the traditional Pickering Balancing Test, but rather one that looks at the ability of government to compel the speech of public employees.

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An FDNY deputy assistant chief who claims he was passed over for promotion to assistant chief for refusing to renounce letters to the editor he wrote decades ago relative to merit based testing, has filed suit alleging the city violated his First Amendment rights. DAC Michael F. Gala, Jr. filed suit late last year naming the city and Fire Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro as defendants.

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A lawsuit brought by four Stamford, Connecticut firefighters challenging changes to the city’s promotional process, will proceed over the objection of the city. Lieutenants Kevin Dingle and Bruce Wagoner, along with firefighters Robert Pickering and Brian Whitbread filed suit last year naming the city of Stamford and several city administrators as defendants.

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