Parks and Recreation Department sued for discrimination - Ethnic Minority Society - New York, New York - Brief Article

Parks & Recreation, August, 2002

In June, the federal government sued the New York City Parks and Recreation Department for failing to follow objective guidelines to determine who to promote to management positions, failing to post notices for job openings and "rarely, if ever" conducting required interviews for vacancies. These practices discriminated against black and Hispanic workers, the suit contends.

Part of the issue is that employees didn't believe the agency promoted from within. In some cases, jobs were given to outsiders who hadn't even applied for the position. Another issue is the "Class of" program that recruits recent graduates with top grades from challenging universities straight into management position in the department. The goal of the program is to attract highly sought-after graduates. However, some say this goal is at the expense of the seasoned employee.

Parks and recreation agencies should reflect the diversity of their communities Sound hiring and promotion practices are key to retaining good staff and advancing agencies' services.