sr-052483-11bPE:SEM:p
Council Meeting: May 24, 1983
To: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Staff
Santa Monica, California ~~-
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MAY 2 4 1983
SUBJECT: Firefighter Affirmative Action Program
Introduction
This report requests Council approval in concept of a temporary
voluntary affirmative action program designed to increase the
number of women and minority group members in the Firefighter
position classification, while efforts are made to institute a
recruitment and testing program which will ensure long term
progress toward a balanced workforce in the Fire service.
Background
The Santa Monica Fire Department currently has five Hispanics among
their sworn personnel. There are no women, blacks or asians at the
rank of Firefighter or above. This compares poorly to the
representation of women and minorities in the Los Angeles /Long
Beach labor market. While other area Fire Departments also lack
female firefighters, minorities are represented in more significant
numbers than in Santa Monica. The following chart illustrates the
problem:
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MAY 2 4 1983
LA/Long Beach LA Santa
Labor Market City Pasadena Inglewood Monica
Women 420 ~ ~ g g
Blacks 11$ 7°s 16% 15°s H
Hispanics 25°s 14a 12a 8°s 5°s
Asians b°s 2$ l0 1$ 0
This employment pattern is not consistent with Council's commitment
to affirmative action progress. In addition, it represents a
significant liability to the City since a woman or minority group
member could establish a prima facie case of discrimination based
on the City's inability to approach labor market representation.
rAhile affirmative action lawsuits have traditionally been filed
against large cities, Pasadena, a City close to Santa Monica's
size, has been successfully sued with sobering results. In
addition to back pay and attorneys fees which will total in excess
of two million dollars, that City will now operate under a court
mandated hiring and promotion program that will waive civil service
procedures if necessary to achieve a 59$ minority hiring rate until
percentages acceptable to the Court are reached. In addition, the
City has had to hired a temporary staff to contact past applicants
and employees to provide them with the benefits of the court award.
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Temporary Program
Staff of the Fire Department, Personnel Department and City
Attorney's Office have been working with the City Manager's Office
for several months to develop a program that will begin to remedy
the problem and reduce Santa Monica's exposure to litigation.
The recommended program is soundly based on legal precedent for
voluntary affirmative action programs. It is temporary in nature.
By maximizing Fire Department involvement, it ensures that progress
will be made with no sacrifice of quality in the hires. Under the
temporary program, a small number of individuals will be recruited
to form a trainee class of ten to fifteen individuals. The class
make up will closely approximate the Los Angeles/Long Beach labor
market percentages. Fire Department personnel will be the primary
recruiting staff. Women and minorities will be recruited from the
current list, community college athletic programs and personal
references.
The Fire Department, with assistance from Personnel, will conduct a
rigorous but fair training program of twenty-three to thirty- five
weeks. Trainees who will be hired as as-needed employees at the
minimum wage, $3.35/hour for the first half of the course and
$3.52/hour for the second 'Half of the course. Classes will be held
three hours per evening on Thursday and Friday and eight hours on
Saturday so that trainees can hold full time employment during the
program. Individuals who are not proceeding satisfactorily will be
replaced as long as it is possible for new trainees to catch up to
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the original group. At the end of the training course, a final
examination will be used to rank the trainees and create an
eligibility list from which hires will be made. Subsequent classes
will be scheduled to meet the recruiting needs of the Department.
Long Term Change
The temporary program is designed to make short-term progress over
a period of two years. During that time staff will consult with
experts in psychometrics, test design and validation to develop job
related screening devices which do not have adverse impact on women
and minorities. If those efforts are successful, the City can
return to more standard recruitment and testing activities with
assurance that progress toward a balanced workforce will continue.
Fire Department Briefings
A small group of Eire Department personnel have assisted in the
design of the temporary program. Because Fire will play a lead
role in that program and because the support of the entire
Department is important to the program's success, the City Manager
is meeting with each Fire company to present the program and answer
questions and concerns. While it is clear that many Fire personnel
would prefer to retain the traditional procedures, others recognize
the desirability of retaining control of the hiring process and
avoiding litigation that would turn that control over to the
courts.
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Financial Impact
The City Council will be asked to appropriate funds for the program
during adoption of the FY 83-84 budget in June. Preliminary cost
estimates are as follows:
Trainee S9ages/Class
Trainee Equipment/Class
Fire Dept Overtime/Class
Recruitment/Testing Cost
Expert Advice
$25,000
7,000
4,000
3,000
58,000 - 111,000
The cost of expert advice on long term testing procedures will be
incurred over two fiscal years and it is estimated that FY 83-84
costs will not exceed $115,000, assuming that two classes are
scheduled during that period.
Council Actions Required
Staff requests that Council approve the above described program,
To formally implement the program, Council must adopt a Resolution
detailing the basis for establishing a voluntary affirmative action
plan and should request that the City Attorney return a Resolution
for adoption. Finally, Council must make appropriation of funds
necessary for the program in adopting the budget on June 21.
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Recommendation
It is recommended that Council approve the voluntary affirmative
action program for the Fire Department, direct staff to continue
with planning for the program, direct the City Attorney to return
with an appropriate Resolution for adoption and take action on
funding for the program in the budget process.
Prepared By: Susan E. McCarthy
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