Two white Fire Department of New York doctors claim in a race and age discrimination federal lawsuit that they were denied a promotion in favor of a less qualified black woman just out of medical school.
But, hey, what else should they have expected from the diversity-crazed FDNY? The department has put at least two women on the force, even though they failed basic skills and fitness tests.
In 2014, Ann Marchesano, 60, and Mark Spadaro, 64, both part-time FDNY docs, applied for a full-time position as fire medical officer. The position required board certification in a medical specialty. Despite more than 30 years of practicing medicine and good FDNY work records, neither was even interviewed, the suit says.
Instead, Shenecia Beecher, a 2010 Columbia medical school graduate, was hired. The lawsuit says Beecher had no relevant experience with the FDNY or generally, lacked the crucial board certification and received her medical license just three years earlier.
When Marchesano complained FDNY Chief Medical Office Kerry Kelly told her the department was “looking for ways to diversify” and wanted someone “younger and fresh,” according to the suit.
Since 2012, the FDNY has hired three fire medical officers, all of whom were non-whites and “substantially younger” than the plaintiff, according to documentation provided in the suit.
The media is saturated with articles about alleged race discrimination. But only the New York Post has covered this lawsuit.
Interestingly, David Wims, the lawyer for both jilted whites, is black.
“I represent my clients without passion or prejudice, whether white, black or green,” Wims told the Washington Gadfly. “Additionally, my services are available independent of ideology or perspective.”
Read the lawsuit: