A federal lawsuit against the city of Wyoming and two city officials alleges wrongful termination and retaliation against so-called 'two-hatter' employment.
The $500,000 suit brought by former Wyoming and Jamestown Township firefighter Thomas Saladino was filed in Grand Rapids federal court last week.
It names the city of Wyoming, City Manager Curtis Holt and Wyoming Public Safety Director James Carmody.
Court records state Saladino worked for the city of Wyoming as a firefighter for 23 years. He’s also worked for Jamestown Township as a paid on-call firefighter and later part-time fire chief beginning in 1999.
The heart of the case involves two-hatter policies related to firefighters and other public safety employees who work a mix of part and full-time hours for more than one municipality or agency.
Saladino alleges recent city policies targeted two-hatters and led to unfair treatment, including a "sham" internal affairs investigation in July and his termination in August.
Holt provided a statement to WOOD-TV on Tuesday, saying in part that, "[w]hile we generally do not comment on pending litigation, we deny the allegations in the lawsuit brought by Mr. Saladino."