Hiring Policy Under Scrutiny
This is an interesting story via the New York Times about the FDNY's use of "stipulation agreements" to hire firefighters with minor drug and alcohol convictions:
The New York Fire Department acknowledged yesterday that it has been making increasing use of hiring agreements that allow firefighters with minor drug and alcohol convictions to join the ranks as long as they agree to random substance abuse tests.The use of so-called stipulation agreements came into the spotlight on Wednesday when the father of a firefighter who had been hired conditionally was arrested and charged with offering thousands of dollars in bribes to employees of a Brooklyn medical laboratory to help dispose of his son's urine samples that had tested positive for cocaine, the authorities said.
Fire officials called the stipulation agreements smart policy, and said they were intended to forgive youthful mistakes, including minor drug or alcohol arrests, and to more closely monitor firefighters with a history of such problems. Stipulation agreements allow the department to fire those who fail substance abuse tests.
As long as well-qualified people are hired and then monitored closely from the start of their employment, I don’t see a problem with this policy.
