Mayor, Vulcans Differ On Retro Seniority In Fire Test Bias Case

PAUL WASHINGTON: Mayor stalling for political reasons.

The Bloomberg administration and the Vulcan Society of black firefighters have yet to agree on whether black candidates appointed to the Fire Department as a result of a Federal judge's findings that two Firefighter exams were racially biased should receive retroactive seniority.

During talks of a settlement between the two parties, the city reportedly argued that such a move was unacceptable because it would result in less-qualified individuals moving closer to promotion in the department.

Vulcans: Against Lower Standards

"There's a notion out there that we would take anyone whether people are qualified or not," said John Coombs, the president of the Vulcan Society. "That isn't true."

U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis in July ruled that the 1999 and 2002 written Firefighter exams had an unlawful disparate impact on black and Latin candidates. He has yet to decide on a remedy in the case.

"Once someone's harmed, they are to be made whole, and part of making someone whole is to be retroactively brought into that seniority in that pool, not to just say, 'here's a job,' '' Firefighter Coombs said. "You don't kind of fix a problem, you fix a problem."

The Vulcans also noted that regardless of any seniority award, Firefighters will still need three years on the job before being eligible for promotion.

Paul Washington, a former president of the black firefighter fraternal society, claimed that Mayor Bloomberg was delaying a settlement on the issue because he didn't want to look weak in front of voters as he seeks reelection in November.

"He doesn't want to be seen as capitulating on this issue," he said.

Officials at the Uniformed Firefighters Association, whose members would be most affected by new Firefighters coming into the FDNY with retroactive seniority, were not available to comment last week.