The New York City Fire Department graduated 9 convicted felons from the firefighting academy, and it is facing a mound of criticism from some people who do not believe that felons should be hired as firefighters.
I have read comments such as “why would the largest Fire Department in the USA have to stoop so low to have to select felons?” and “America wake up the new trend by our liberal professors in other FD reports are picking diversity over compency.” [sic].
But can the fire department – professional or volunteer – in New just not hire someone who is a convicted felon? Actually, not really (i.e., no).
Section 752 of Article 23-A of the New York State Correction Law provides in part:
“No application for any license or employment … shall be denied or acted upon adversely by reason of the individual’s having been previously convicted of one or more criminal offenses, or by reason of a finding of lack of “good moral character” when such finding is based upon the fact that the individual has previously been convicted of one or more criminal offenses…”
Section 752 further states that the public policy of New York is “to encourage the licensure and employment of persons previously convicted of one or more criminal offenses.” Most important, the law provides that in making a determination of employment, “the public agency or private employer shall also give consideration to a certificate of relief from disabilities or a certificate of good conduct issued to the applicant, which certificate shall create a presumption of rehabilitation in regard to the offense or offenses specified therein.”
New York law does require that employers, including fire districts, fire departments and EMS departments, apply a specific process to review the prior criminal convictions of applicants and does prohibit a department from automatically excluding an applicant for membership based upon a criminal conviction that is not an arson conviction.
