ST. GEORGE - A five-year-long legal battle within the St. George Fire Department won't be coming to a solution anytime soon, as a countersuit has been filed.

President of the St. George Firefighters Local 4524 Jason Turner says the bitter litigation began when fellow firefighters realized they weren't being paid equally.

"The central issue is some people were brought in from other departments, other areas, whatever, and they were paid different amounts than people who had been at St. George for as long—if not longer—than they had ever been a firefighter," Turner said.

The union filed suit against the St. George Fire Department on behalf of 150 former and current firefighters in 2020, alleging Chief Gerard Tarleton violated state law by paying new hires more than some longtime employees.

"A firefighter with less time that had never been in the fire service as a residential or a municipal firefighter — he had come from the plant — was hired at a step higher than this guy. This firefighter that was brought in from the plant only had seven years of service, and he's being paid more than a 19-year guy."

According to their lawsuit, the newly hired firefighter with seven years experience elsewhere was making $47,102 a year, while the 19-year veteran was paid $45,509.

"The discrepancy is that if you have a guy that's 19 years, he shouldn't be making less than a guy that just got hired."

It's just one such discrepancy among the 150 or so plaintiffs in the suit who were employed in the last seven years, which adds up to a hefty penalty by their calculations.

"Overall, just for the people that are involved with the lawsuit, our calculations are around $25 Million right now."

A judge will decide the exact dollar amount, if any.

Attorney for the department, Henry Olinde, says if a newer person was being paid more than an established St. George firefighter, it's because they had firefighting experience before joining the department.

At the end of last month, the department filed a countersuit against the firefighters.

"They've filed a counterclaim against the firefighters and basically what it says is that if we are right, then they want their money back that they have overpaid us."

Olinde says it has to work both ways, meaning if a judge says the pay was illegal, those who were overpaid will need to give the department back that money.

Turner says despite their complaints with the department, they are still committed to serving the St. George community.

"The men and women just want to do their job. They want to move forward and be treated right, treated fair."

Chief Tarleton disputes the pay discrepancies and says the pay at SGFD is one of the highest in the south.

"The union is just trying to make life difficult for us and is stirring the pot," he told WBRZ over the phone. "They've been at this issue for a while, and they're just trying to make life miserable for us."