SCRANTON - Police, fire and public works unions on Tuesday filed three lawsuits against Mayor Chris Doherty over his decision to pay employees minimum wage.
The trio of unions - International Association of Firefighters Local 60, the Fraternal Order of Police E.B. Jermyn Lodge 2 and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local Lodge 2305 - filed the following legal actions:
- A petition in Lackawanna County Court jointly by all three unions to hold the mayor in contempt, due to paying 398 city employees minimum wages in their paychecks Friday, even though Judge Michael Barrasse on Thursday and Friday ordered full wages.
On June 27, Doherty announced he would unilaterally slash pay to minimum wages indefinitely, starting with July 6 paychecks. On July 2, the unions sued to prevent the pay cuts, and on Thursday and Friday Judge Barrasse issued injunctions ordering full wages, despite administration testimony that the city is broke. The mayor has said the city simply does not have the money to make full payrolls of $1 million every two weeks and pay mounting unpaid bills, particularly health-care insurance.
"Since the issuance of the court's order, defendants have taken no steps to rectify the discrepancy," states the petition by Thomas Jennings, attorney for the unions. He also states that employees "will be severely and immediately deprived of wages that they have earned, in violation of federal law, state law and their collective bargaining agreements."
- A class-action lawsuit in federal U.S. District Court in Scranton under the Fair Labor Standards Act alleging the city has failed to pay overtime in the last payroll.
The plaintiffs in this lawsuit are police officers Paul Reed, Ronald Alongi and Lowell Stevens, and DPW employees Tony Giannione, John Henehan and Edward May. They are suing on behalf of all fire, police and DPW employees who have worked overtime but have not received overtime pay. There are more than 25 such employees in this class, the lawsuit states.
It seeks a judgment declaring the mayor and city violated their legal obligations toward employees, a complete accounting of all compensation owed to employees, damages including back pay and interest, and attorney's fees.
- Another lawsuit in federal court alleging violations of the Pennsylvania Heart and Lung Act, because benefits of disabled police and firefighters also were cut to minimum wages without first having a required hearing.
The plaintiffs in this lawsuit are police officers Michael Albert, Peter Balchus and Jason Christiano; and firefighters Kenneth Czyzyk, Michael Grimes, David Gullone, Edward Kowalyk, Steven Marino, Delwin Morgan and Roger Rogalewicz.
The lawsuit, which claims the plaintiffs' Constitutional rights of due process under the 14th Amendment were violated, seeks a permanent injunction prohibiting the mayor and city from withholding disability benefits, as well as back pay, damages for emotional distress and attorney's fees.
The defendants in each lawsuit are named as the mayor and City of Scranton.
Tuesday's legal blitz by the unions were the latest events in the city's escalating financial crisis stemming from a longstanding stalemate between the mayor and council over revising a recovery plan under state Act 47, under which Scranton has been designated as financially distressed for 20 years.
Doherty deferred comment about the lawsuits to city solicitor Paul Kelly. Efforts to reach Kelly were not successful.
When he announced pay cuts on June 27, the mayor also vowed to pay all withheld salaries once the city's financial crisis is over.
On Tuesday, he also again repeated his assertions that the crisis has stemmed from city council reducing his proposed tax hikes and instead relying on borrowing and refinancing to balance the budget, neither of which the city can obtain without a realistic recovery plan.
Wary banks want a new recovery plan before they again would consider providing loans or financing that the city needs to fill a $16.8 million budget gap this year, the mayor has said. He has proposed a 78 percent tax hike over three years and garbage fee hikes.
But council has refused to go along with any tax hikes over 10 percent each year and instead wants to fill the gaps with alternative revenue sources, such as increased contributions from nonprofits and commuter, sales and payroll taxes. The mayor has said council ideas won't occur quickly and won't produce enough revenue.
Efforts to reach Council President Janet Evans were unsuccessful.