Fire Service Testing in a Litigious Environment: A Case History

Abstract

Since the mid-1970s, the city of St. Louis has encountered frequent litigation and court involvement surrounding the testing procedures used to evaluate candidates for promotion in the fire service. During this period, the city has expended a considerable amount of time, effort, and money to develop valid and defensible methods of testing. In light of this experience, we have decided to review the past history to see if any conclusions can be drawn that would be helpful to other organizations. This article contains a brief history of the city's fire service testing and litigation, and a description of the current testing model used by the city. It also addresses the use of various testing components and their impact on all candidates. Finally, some practical considerations are discussed.