Opinion ID: 213364
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Plaintiff Officers

Text: All three plaintiff-appellantsKevin Groesch, Greg Shaffer, and Scott Allin are white officers who were in good standing with the City of Springfield police department when they voluntarily resigned. At the times of their resignations, officers seeking reemployment were required to go through the hiring process for new police officers. Following successful completion of the process, officers were placed on an eligibility roster to await vacancies in the police department, and hired based on their rank on the roster. Rehired officers were required to reenter the force as entry-level officers in terms of pay, benefits, and seniority. All of the appellants were subject to these regulations. Kevin Groesch was a police officer with the department for seven and a half years before resigning in 1988. When he later inquired about returning to the department, he was told he would have to go through the hiring process for new officers because his sixty day leave of absence had expired. After reapplying to the police department and awaiting reemployment from 1989 through 1996, Groesch was rehired by the department as an entry-level patrol officer in 1996. When Greg Shaffer resigned from the police department in 1987, he had worked there for seven years. He went through the rehiring process and returned to the department in 1993 as an entry-level officer, with no credit for his earlier years of service. Scott Allin resigned in 1986 after six years of service with the department. After six months away, he attempted to rejoin but was told he needed to reapply. Allin was eventually selected from the eligibility roster in 1989 and returned to work with no credit for his earlier years of service.