Since last week’s decision of HRD to not grade promotional exams, we have been laser focused on a meaningful response. We have been in touch with other statewide police and fire unions as well as Governor Baker’s Office, EOPPS and Administration and Finance which oversees HRD and Civil Service. We have had two emergency executive board meetings and enlisted the help of Attorney John Scheft and our in house legal counsel Paul McCarthy.
We are well aware of the frustration and lack of direction felt by the membership. As far as the questions regarding current lists we can report the following:
- Contrary to some reports, no current established promotional lists have been frozen, the established lists remain published in public view on the Civil Service website and there has been no correspondence received instructing appointing authorities to seize the use of the current lists. Just this past week, we are aware of departments that made promotions off current lists and we also are aware of other departments who are planning to promote this week. Although no formal direction has come from civil service, departments cannot use current lists as the sole determinant in promotion. We suggest some sort of oral interview or independent assessment or review board. The best course of action at the local level would be to leverage a meeting between your union leaders and your agency head to have an open discussion on the future plans and suggest the Appointing Authority reach out to Civil Service for guidance and to ensure their method will comply with standards. We caution things are fluid and could change.
- On the legal front, after a weekend of going through hundreds of pages of legal documents, yesterday our legal team discovered some interesting facts which could lead to a legitimate remedy. Again, we understand the frustration but are being told to be patient. We want to get this right.
Please know we realize how important this is to certain members and will continue to work tirelessly on your behalf. This is a multifaceted issue not just affecting some of our members but also it stretches across to our fellow first responder brothers and sisters in the Fire Fighter Profession. We are keeping our lines of communication open with our legislative partners, union association partners, legal advisors and will continue giving you the updates as we get them.
As always if you have questions please feel free to contact us.