1) I think a court case is likely and will be bloody as hell and will likely look at the entire paradigm.
2) The uncomfortable question is...what role the entrance requirements are serving? Do they accurately cover the absolute minimum requirements that an entrant must have to be a successful firefighter today and in the coming years? Or, are they more of a tool used to justify the salary of a firefighter?
3) The first responders here are saying the former is accurate. But will a judge see the same?
1) Sad but true.
2) IMHO, the tests are testing (no pun intended
) the basic common sense of the testee. I've taken a number of LE tests, and the questions are the same as we saw here, obviously geared to LE work. I'd imagine, much like a LE test, there will be a physical agility test, background, polygraph, etc. If those are passed, then the 'real' training begins in the academy. Of course, the common sense aspect carries over there as well. One would assume that if you make it that far, you're on the road to a start of a new career, although it may never happen. IMO, I really dont think that the testis being used to determine the pay scale.
3) We could only hope. I'm looking forward to the outcome of this, should it go to court. What this sounds to me, is that you have people who see jobs like a firefighter, leo, etc, as high paying, stable jobs. However, there are some people that probably just aren't cut out for the job. I mean, if you cant solve simple word problems, spell correctly, etc., are these the people that you want to respond and attempt to save your life, put out a fire, etc? If they can't handle the test, I question whether they can handle the stress of the real deal.