St. Louis Firefighters Fail in Legal Bid to Force Promotions

Firefighters seeking to force St. Louis to elevate them from acting captain and chief positions have no protected property interests in the desired promotions, a federal appeals court said Tuesday.

More than a dozen firefighters, who say they earned the highest scores on qualifying exams for the roles, argued that the Missouri city’s failure to promote them ran afoul of the US Constitution’s due process protections and takings clause. But their promotion hopes don’t rise to the level of property interests with constitutional protection, the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit said.

• The firefighters allege St. Louis ...