The FDNY is hosing down the good-ol’-boy network.
A new directive forbids all employees to put in a good word or otherwise communicate with the department’s hiring bureau about entry-level candidates.
“Fire Department employees who do not perform official duties relating to the hiring of firefighters are prohibited from communicating with personnel involved in the firefighter-hiring process,” says the Sept. 13 order signed by Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano and Chief of Department Edward Kilduff.
Employees who knowingly violate the order are “subject to discipline.”
The directive stops what was a common practice at the department, said an FDNY insider.
“What happened is people would vouch for someone, and things would be overlooked,” he said.
The new directive should level the playing field for new recruits who don’t have connections in the department, he said.
“If you’re black or Hispanic, you’re not going to have the same hook as someone who’s got a family and tradition in the FDNY,” the insider said.
The FDNY’s hiring practices have been under fire. A federal court judge ruled last year that the department discriminated against minorities, and appointed a monitor to oversee hiring practices.
An FDNY spokesman declined to comment.
Republished with permission of The New York Post
