Earlier this year, when Lancaster City needed five new firemen, the applications poured in.
In the end, five candidates were chosen. But only four passed the training. The union says it’s because the city changed hiring practices to favor minorities.
Tim Erb the Fireman’s Union President said after everything, they now only have four firemen. “It’s disheartening as far as the amount of people. We push for staffing all the time and now instead of five we wind up with four.”
The test for firemen is comprised of a written, oral and physical exam.
But this year, one of the changes was that a physical test was not done before hiring. The city says it couldn’t be done because of timing.
“What we’re trying to do is hire the very best qualified people that we can. And we would like to make sure minority candidates and other city resident candidates have the best shot at being hired," said Patrick Hopkins, Lancaster City Business Administrator.
Hopkins says the city lost $6000 of salary paid to the woman who failed training plus the cost of the school. “What I’ll say is that the hiring process we had was the most stringent practice we ever had to hire firefighters. So the fact that one of the five candidates didn’t make it through the academy is unfortunate, but that is going to happen sometimes.”
The president of the fire union said he believes some of the candidates that were passed over could now file a lawsuit for discrimination.
In the end, five candidates were chosen. But only four passed the training. The union says it’s because the city changed hiring practices to favor minorities.
Tim Erb the Fireman’s Union President said after everything, they now only have four firemen. “It’s disheartening as far as the amount of people. We push for staffing all the time and now instead of five we wind up with four.”
The test for firemen is comprised of a written, oral and physical exam.
But this year, one of the changes was that a physical test was not done before hiring. The city says it couldn’t be done because of timing.
“What we’re trying to do is hire the very best qualified people that we can. And we would like to make sure minority candidates and other city resident candidates have the best shot at being hired," said Patrick Hopkins, Lancaster City Business Administrator.
Hopkins says the city lost $6000 of salary paid to the woman who failed training plus the cost of the school. “What I’ll say is that the hiring process we had was the most stringent practice we ever had to hire firefighters. So the fact that one of the five candidates didn’t make it through the academy is unfortunate, but that is going to happen sometimes.”
The president of the fire union said he believes some of the candidates that were passed over could now file a lawsuit for discrimination.