Civil Service Board denies grievance over Dallas police lieutenant eligibility list dates

The Dallas Civil Service Board on Tuesday rejected a grievance from three Dallas Police Department sergeants who argued that an updated promotional eligibility list for lieutenant was assigned an incorrect expiration date and therefore shortened their eligibility window.

The grievance, filed by attorneys for sergeants Cecil Chambers, Princess Diggins and Ricky Scott, centered on the application of Civil Service Board rules that govern promotional eligibility lists. Counsel for the grievants argued the list posted April 29, 2024, should have retained a later expiration date (Oct. 29, 2025) rather than the Oct. 12, 2025 date published with the list, because the April 29 posting amended an earlier April 12 list rather than creating a new list.

“By the definition of the rules, it’s an eligibility list,” attorney Randall Snyder (representing the grievants) told the board. He argued the amended list retained characteristics that require the full 548 days (18 months) of active status and asked the board to halt or realign the 2025 promotional schedule to avoid simultaneous existence of two eligibility lists.

City counsel Greg Martin countered that the governing rule specifies an eligibility list’s effective period “shall remain in effect for a period not to exceed 18 months,” and that the phrase sets a maximum rather than a guaranteed minimum. Civil Service Department director David Davis testified about the department’s practice of posting amended lists when examinees return from qualifying leave and said the April 29 posting reflected addition of alternate examinees whose make-up scores had been calculated. Davis testified the department had not received any request from the chief to extend an eligibility list beyond 18 months.

Retired Lieutenant Thomas Glover and Sergeant Princess Diggins also testified about historical practice and the grievance’s impacts on candidates’ preparation. Diggins said the timing matters to candidates and families: altering the timeline creates competing lists and “allow[s]…the ability to decide whether to pick from list A or list B based on whom you want to promote,” she said.

After hearing testimony and closing arguments, the board considered a single question drafted in the packet: whether the Civil Service Department misinterpreted or violated Civil Service Rule 4.3(e) when it provided the updated list with the Oct. 12, 2025 expiration. Board members concluded the department had not violated the rule and voted to deny the grievance. The board’s recorded tally in open session was four votes against granting the grievance and none in favor.

The board’s ruling leaves the April 29, 2024 eligibility list with the Oct. 12, 2025 expiration intact and does not change the schedule for the department’s 2025 promotional process; Civil Service Department staff said they will proceed with the announced timeline for the 2025 lieutenant examination and subsequent register publication.