BY STEPHANIE LAM
Daily Post Correspondent
Former Palo Alto Fire Chief Geo Blackshire is suing the city for allegedly withholding wages from him for years, according to a lawsuit filed in the Santa Clara County Superior Court.
During his tenure as chief, Blackshire was supposed to have received a 3% wage premium for his Emergency Medical Technician certification, the lawsuit, filed on Jan. 7 states. The premium requirements are outlined in a city compensation plan for EMT certified employees.
Blackshire, who has had his certification since 1997, was paid the premium during his time as Deputy Fire Chief, according to the suit. But in July 2019, when Blackshire was promoted, the city stopped paying the premium.
“That omission persisted for years, through multiple compensation plan cycles and payroll periods, without disclosure or correction,” according to the the lawsuit, filed by attorneys Jamon Hicks and Rebecca Brown.
Blackshire retired on Oct. 31 after nearly three decades in the department. He was one of the highest paid city employees and made $395,370 last year, pay records show.
Blackshire allegedly approached the city numerous times since 2023 to express his concerns about the EMT premium, including talking to Manager of Employee and Labor Relations Tori Anthony and HR representatives Sandra Blanch.
Blanch claimed that Blackshire’s salary did encompass the EMT pay, “despite the complete absence of any EMT payment on his wage statement or payroll records maintained by the City throughout his tenure as Fire Chief,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit also calls the city’s explanations for not including the pay “inconsistent” with “each excuse contradicting the last, revealing a pattern of evasion.”
The former chief is seeking damages for failure to pay wages, inaccurate wage statements and failure to produce employment records in a timely manner. The lawsuit does not list how much the total wages are.
The Post has reached out to the city for a response to the lawsuit. We’ll update the article if they respond.
There is nothing more revolting than this pathetic greed.
Is it possible that the city stopped paying him for his EMT certification because Fire Chiefs don’t go out on calls? When was the last time a desk jockey fought a fire or, over in police, did a felony arrest? Shouldn’t the EMT premium go to somebody who is actually performing that service?