Claim Promotions Skewed: Women Sue Over Alleged EMS Bias

Claim Promotions Skewed
Women Sue Over Alleged EMS Bias

By GINGER ADAMS OTIS

Five senior female Emergency Medical Service officers who were passed over for promotions filed a discrimination lawsuit against the Fire Department Sept. 26.

TOM EPPINGER: 'EMS whiter as you rise.' Amy Monroe, Kathleen Gonczi, Andrienne Knight, Mary Dandridge and Irene Kruiten - all EMS officers with an average of 20 years on the job - contended in court documents that the lack of civil service exams for positions higher than Lieutenant has resulted in a subjective promotional process that favors male candidates.

Improper Pass-Overs?

The lawsuit alleges that some of the women have been denied letters of recommendation from supervisors; others were denied access to their letters after being turned down for promotions; and all have been turned down for promotions but were not given a reason why.

Male candidates with less seniority and experience have been promoted over them, the plaintiffs contended. They seek unspecified monetary damages and a change to the evaluation and promotional process used by EMS.

The EMS Bureau is touted as one of the FDNY's most diverse divisions. In contrast to the firefighting ranks, which are 91-percent white and 99-percent male among a force of 11,600, approximately half of EMS's 2,500 workers are minority and 25 percent are women. But among EMS supervisors, said Tom Eppinger, president of District Council 37 Local 3621, which represents officers, the ranks "get consecutively more male and whiter the higher you go."

The Chief-Leader/Adrienne Haywood-James INVISIBLE WOMAN: Emergency Medical Service Lieut. Mary Dandridge alleges that supervisors refused her requests for letters of recommendation when she sought a promotion to Captain and co-workers ostracized her when she complained of alleged gender discrimination. According to union figures, 17 percent of the department's EMS officers - 70 out of 417 - are women.

The FDNY released a statement Sept. 26 saying it is proud of the contributions from women in EMS. The department took issue with some of the statistics used in the lawsuit, and insisted that its promotional system was fair.

"This is evidenced by the fact that women make up 25 percent of the work force, and they are represented in approximately the same percentages in every higher rank (Lieutenant, Captain and Deputy Chief)," the statement said.

EMS Lieutenant Dandridge, however, said that as a black female she felt "basically invisible" in the FDNY.

Spurned, Then Shunned

According to the lawsuit, Ms. Dandridge applied for a promotion to Captain in May 2005 and was passed over despite a favorable recommendation. She also alleged that her requests for evaluations and letters of recommendation from supervisors from 1997 to 2001 were denied.

After she complained about discrimination in the department, Ms. Dandridge said, she was treated poorly by co-workers.

Mr. Eppinger said Local 3621 had attempted to grieve some of the complaints from the women but got nowhere because the titles above Lieutenant - Captain, Deputy Chief, Division Chief, and Assistant Chief of EMS - aren't part of the civil-service system.

"We have to deal with the fact that these are subjective appointments," he said. "There's no exam or list to go off of, and there's nothing to stop people from being bounced back once they are promoted."

The union is trying to negotiate civil service exams for positions above Lieutenant, he added.

Couldn't Get Interview

Captain Monroe applied for a Deputy Chief position and said that like all the other female candidates, she was denied an interview. The lawsuit said the position went to a male candidate who lacked the required qualification evaluations and recommendations.

"Women hit a female firewall in the FDNY," said lead counsel Yetta G. Kurland. "This sends a clear message that women are not treated as equals."