Baltimore inspector general says fire department gave backpay to officers before their start date
Baltimore's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has issued a new report alleging that the fire department provided backpay to promoted officers based on the date a vacancy was posted, not the date when employees began working in the position.
The mishandled backpay "resulted in thousands of dollars paid for work that was never done by the recipient of the monies," said the report, which was released Wednesday.
A review of retroactive payments made to employees promoted in 2024 to the positions of pump operator and emergency vehicle driver showed that more than $30,000 had been paid in total backpay, according to the report.
The OIG noted that union agreements used by the Baltimore City Fire Department (BCFD) "do not contain clear language mandating the promotional backpay process for employees." However, providing backpay from the time the promotion positions were first posted "has continued as a past practice."
Some department vacancies remained open for years
Because of the length of the BCFD promotion process, vacancies can remain open for months, or sometimes even years, according to the OIG report.
"Backing the pay to the start of posting caused the city to pay multiple times for the same shifts and pay employees for work they did not perform and were also ineligible to perform during the period in question," it said.
The OIG found the practice to be a waste of taxpayer dollars and the report said the agency was referring its findings to the city's Department of Audits so that it can review the practice. The OIG report noted it concluded that the practice "allegedly occurred for decades."
Fire department issues response
A response from the BCFD was released along with the report.
"BCFD generally agrees with your ultimate recommendation to discontinue the process of backdating promotions to the date of vacancy as a matter of course, and where the date of vacancy precedes a current promotional list," said the response.
"We believe BCFD had the full discretion and the responsibility to discontinue the process, which, as noted in the report, BCFD did, effective August 8, 2025," it added.
The OIG stated that the report was completed prior to the city restoring the agency's access to records. Before the restoration happened, Baltimore officials had feuded for months with Inspector General Isabel Cumming over access to city records and computer systems.
