An arbitrator has ruled against the Austin Fire Department and sided with the fire union in how an entrance exam for applicants should be scored.
But the impact of the opinion — and how the city will proceed — is not yet known. The dispute centered around how to attract more diverse candidates to the department. The city thought a pass/fail ranking would be the better approach, but the union favored a numeric score.
Arbitrator Don E. Williams wrote in a 34-page ruling Tuesday that the city violated its labor contract with the union in how it scored the exam.
Williams said in his ruling that “the city shall cease and desist from implementing or utilizing any hiring process that does not rank applicants in numerical order as required.”
Fire Chief Rhoda Mae Kerr and union president Bob Nicks are meeting this afternoon to discuss the issue.
“Chief Kerr and I have agreed to limit (as much as possible) the release of any detailed information to the media until after our meeting,” Nicks wrote to his membership. “This should allow us to look at the facts of the ruling objectively before either of us is required to take ‘positions’ with the media. AFA looks forward to this conversation and are hopeful we can agree on a best practices hiring process together.”