Panel urges wide change in Fire Department The Report The Challenge: Managing Tradition, Diversity, and Change Prior Coverage Part 1: 'Tradition' and culture costing Boston millions of dollars Job satisfaction Cast in heroic role, firefighters bask in public acceptance Disability Lingering injuries strain budget, patience Part II: Traditional ways trample on women and minority goups Minority hiring Some dubious applicant designations San Francisco Change at the top is a crowning achievement Part III: Turf war a threat to emergancy aid Weekly Health | Science (Tue.) Food (Wed.) Calendar (Thu.) Life at Home (Thu.) Sunday Automotive Focus Learning Magazine Real Estate Travel Local news City Weekly South Weekly Globe West North Weekly NorthWest Weekly NH Weekly Features Globe archives Book Reviews Book Swap Columns Comics Crossword Horoscopes Death Notices Lottery Movie Reviews Music Reviews NetWatch weblog Obituaries Special Reports Today's stories A-Z TV & Radio Weather Classifieds Autos BostonWorks Real Estate Place an Ad Buy a Globe photo Help E-mail addresses Send us feedback Alternative views Low-graphics version Acrobat version (.pdf)

MINORITY HIRING Some dubious applicant designations By David Armstrong, Globe Staff, 02/08/99 IN THE MINORITY Four of the nine women on the job have filed MCAD complaints against the department. One of them, Julia Rodriguez (above), said the bias against women and minorities is "entrenched." (Globe Staff File Photo / Christopher Fitzgerald) ince a federal court in the mid-1970s ordered the Boston Fire Department to increase the pool of minority applicants, some whites have tried to get hired by falsely claiming to be minorities. One tactic is for white applicants to claim they were raised in a Spanish-speaking household, which would entitle them to minority status. One applicant in 1997 who claimed he was raised in a Spanish-speaking household was asked to speak Spanish during an interview. He couldn't. Another job hopeful last year was a white man born in Norwood and raised in Hyde Park who said he should be considered a minority because his mother was born in Argentina. He was denied minority status. In 1990, the state investigated 13 firefighters who claimed minority status, and determined that six lied about their heritage. The larger review was prompted by the case of brothers Paul and Philip Malone, who were fired after identifying themselves as black on job applications. Though both men had white complexions, they claimed their great-grandmother was black. A more recent change giving preference to job applicants who live in the city when they take the firefighting exam has also prompted concerns of fraud. The city is currently investigating the case of Neal A. Mullane Jr., a recent hire who claimed he was a resident of Boston at the same time he was employed as a New York City firefighter. Fire Commissioner Martin E. Pierce Jr. said he is satisfied Mullane was a resident, saying he commuted to his job in New York from Boston and was frequently in the city to visit his dying mother. But the New York City Fire Department said it listed a local address for Mullane, and he registered several vehicles in New York, records indicate. Mullane did not return phone calls seeking comment. The issue of residency is critical because it provides a preference in hiring that effectively eliminates nonresidents as candidates. In the most recent class of recruits, no nonresident hopefuls were hired. Toni Wolfman, a Boston lawyer charged with monitoring the Fire Department's compliance with the consent decree, said she is challenging the hiring of Mullane. The hiring of Mullane has raised eyebrows because his father is a member of the department and his uncle, A. Michael Mullane, is a top officer in the international firefighters' union. ''This is the way it used to be,'' said Wolfman. ''Your friends and neighbors and nephews were the only ones ever hired by the Boston Fire Department.'' This story ran on page A09 of the Boston Globe on 02/08/99. © Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.

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