MORGANTOWN – A June 18 order from the West Virginia Supreme Court denied a petition for a writ of prohibition filed by the city of Morgantown in a seven-year legal battle with its firefighters.
Monongalia County Circuit Court Judge Michael Simms’ 2025 order setting the process by which a special commissioner will calculate unpaid holiday wages owed by the city of Morgantown to current and former firefighters will be carried out.
Previous court filings include estimates showing the city’s liability could run well into the millions.
The issue dates back to a June 2019 lawsuit filed by Toriseva Law representing more than 50 members of Morgantown Professional Firefighters IAFF Local 313.
The suit claimed the city’s practice of providing 12 hours of time off per holiday shift fell short of state code because firefighters work 24-hour shifts, and therefore they were not receiving equivalent time off on another day or pay at time-and-a-half.
Court records show the city’s compensation system for holidays had long been a point of contention between the city and the firefighters union and cite multiple letters from IAFF Local 313 to city officials dating back to 1985.
A 2021 ruling from former Circuit Court Judge Phillip Gaujot granting a partial summary judgment to the city was ultimately challenged to the state Supreme Court. The court upheld some of Gaujot’s findings but remanded the case back to circuit court in late 2023 to further consider the firefighters’ claims.
Simms took over following Gaujot’s retirement, and in February 2025, issued an order in line with the Supreme Court’s 2023 opinion, which, in short, said the city was not negligent in offering time off rather than premium pay, but had violated the Wage Payment and Collections Act by not properly calculating the compensation owed and therefore was liable for “some amount of not-yet-determined monetary damages” to the plaintiffs.
As part of Simms’ order, former Circuit Court Judge Russell Clawges was appointed “Special Commissioner” at a rate of $350/hour to be paid by the city to determine what each plaintiff is owed in under-credited holiday pay for the time period between June 2014 and February 2020, which represents the five-year period leading up to the passage of a Morgantown City Council resolution amending holiday pay calculations.
“Lastly, the Simms Order stated that the firefighters ‘substantially prevailed’ on their wage claims so they are entitled to their costs and attorneys’ fees to bring the lawsuit paid by the City,” Toriseva Law’s Joshua Miller said.
According to The Dominion Post archive, an expert witness hired by the plaintiff calculated back wages (June 2014 – February 2020) plus interest and legal fees at more than $6 million as of September 2021.
It’s unclear if that number will be representative of what the city will ultimately be liable for.
“There is generally an estimate but because the litigation is ongoing, I will not disclose what we believe that estimate to be,” Miller said.
Similarly, Morgantown Communications Director Brad Riffee said the litigation is pending and details are not yet finalized.
“A court-appointed special commissioner will determine the amount of holiday leave to be allocated to each employee, as well as any additional leave to which they may be entitled, or any additional compensation to which any former employee may be entitled,” Riffee said.
