Union Sues Mass. Probation Agency Over Promotions

A public employees union claims in a lawsuit that more than 100 Probation Department employees were illegally denied promotions for political reasons.

The National Association of Government Employees filed the suit on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Boston against the state Trial Court and Probation Department, which is under the state court's supervision.

The union claims qualified workers were denied promotions that instead went to politically-connected applicants. The suit seeks to reopen the application process for those positions.

An investigative report commissioned by the Supreme Judicial Court last year found widespread abuses in the department's hiring and promotions processes.

A spokeswoman for the department said it was not their policy to comment on pending lawsuits.

The union has retained Harvard Law School professor and civil rights attorney Charles Ogletree.