HOUSTON – Two Houston firefighters are suing the city over what they assert are racially discriminatory promotion practices in the fire department.
Jesus Fuentes and John Chris Barrientes filed a lawsuit on Dec. 26 in the Harris County 127th District Court, claiming that they lost out on two deputy chief positions because they are Hispanic.
Recent court documents explain that the plaintiffs, who are employed as senior captains, were on an eligibility list for promotion for a district chief position that expired on Sept. 23, 2015. Per the original petition, Fuentes was ranked 19th with Barrientes a spot behind him.
Eighteen individuals were promoted from the list to which the suit states that the complainants should have be named deputy chiefs.
The fire department set up its promotion process to favor non-Hispanic candidates, the plaintiffs contend.
Consequently, Fuentes and Barrientes seek unspecified monetary damages.
They are represented by attorney Joseph Soliz of The Soliz Law Firm, P.L.L.C. in Houston.
Harris County 127th District Court Case No. 2016-87870