HOUSTON – Today the 14th Court of Appeals reversed a final judgment win in favor of the city of Houston in a dispute with the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association, IAFF Local 341 (HPFFA).
In 2003, Houston adopted the Fire and Police Employee Relations Act (FPERA) to govern Houston fire fighters’ compensation, conditions of employment and collective bargaining rights.
In 2017, voters proposed a Houston city charter amendment to instate pay parity between Houston fire fighters and Houston police officers, which passed in the November 2018 election.
After passing, the Houston Police Officers’ Union sued Houston and HPFFA, seeking declaratory judgment.
On May 15, 2019, the trial court signed a final judgment, granting the city’s and HPOU’s motions for summary judgment while denying HPFFA’s.
On appeal, HPFFA argued the trial court erred by striking down the pay–parity amendment.
Justices concluded that the FPERA does not preempt the pay-parity amendment, finding that the trial court erred in its conclusions.
Appeals case No. 14-19-00427-CV