Chief Leader

A Firefighter who had been placed on light duty last year due to a medical condition took an extended, unauthorized vacation while still receiving paychecks for regularly scheduled tours, the Department of Investigation revealed last week.

A DOI probe into the employment status of Firefighter John Mayo revealed that the 38-year-old was absent without leave from April until June 2006, but still getting checks for regular work.

Seeking Repayment
The DOI recommended that Firefighter Mayo, who has been on the job since 1999 and earns a base salary of $63,309, be disciplined and ordered to repay nine weeks' wages.

DOI Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn also expressed concern about the lack of oversight that allowed the Firefighter to disappear for more than two months while submitting time sheets that declared he was on regular duty - even as FDNY records listed him as being fit for light duty only.

The report's findings raised questions about whether the FDNY was able to effectively monitor the 900 firefighters currently on light-duty status.

The DOI investigation revealed that inadequate FDNY regulations regarding light-duty status facilitated Firefighter Mayo's misconduct. But DOI Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn said in a written statement that she was pleased the FDNY had already implemented stricter procedures to keep similar incidents from occurring in the future. Now, among other things, supervisors must immediately alert the light-duty desk if a member fails to report to work.

"This firefighter exploited a gaping hole in the FDNY's policy and procedures governing personnel on light duty," she said. "The new regulations will not adversely affect the majority of firefighters on light duty who do not manipulate a system designed to help and protect them."

Changed Timesheets
DOI's investigation began when a Lieutenant noticed a discrepancy between the timesheets submitted for Firefighter Mayo and the light-duty work he was supposed to be doing. The Lieutenant subsequently learned that Firefighter Mayo wasn't doing any work for the FDNY - he hadn't shown up for more than two months. The Lieutenant tracked him down in Atlanta, Ga. and told him to report for duty.

According to the report, Firefighter Mayo had been placed on light duty in December 2005 due to a medical condition that kept him from actively fighting fires but allowed him to perform administrative tasks for the FDNY. He was assigned to Division 7, but last January, he took an approved vacation.

FDNY records showed he was to have returned to light duty in April.

Timesheets Submitted
Ladder 50, Firefighter Mayo's home station, was in charge of tracking his assignments and hours by submitting his timekeeping and payroll reports to headquarters.

From April to June, the DOI report said, timesheets for Firefighter Mayo were submitted from Ladder 50. The records claimed that he was performing regularly scheduled tours - not light-duty tasks.

In reality, Firefighter Mayo hadn't come to work at all, spending at least part of that time at a relative's house in Georgia.

The timesheets were signed by supervising officers at Ladder 50 - but each used an X instead of a name. When DOI questioned them about it, the supervisors denied filling out any of the sheets, but acknowledged that Firefighter Mayo had not been in the firehouse during the period in question.

Story Doesn't Hold
It wasn't until Lieut. Matthew Donachie, who was in charge of managing Division 7's approximately 100 light-duty personnel, caught a discrepancy in the paperwork that Firefighter Mayo's whereabouts were revealed.

The firefighter told DOI that he hadn't returned to work from his approved, extended vacation because he thought he'd gotten permission to take a medical leave.

But FDNY medical records show that Firefighter Mayo visited doctors at the department's Bureau of Health Services six times between Dec. 1, 2005 and June 29, 2006 and was told verbally and in writing that he was not being put on medical leave.

Firefighter Mayo told DOI he believed he "should have been on" medical leave and maintained that he was on medical leave during the time he was AWOL. He is currently on light duty, pending further disciplinary action from the FDNY.

Poor Monitoring
DOI recommended that he be disciplined for failing to show up for work and required to repay wages during the time he was AWOL. The report also stated there was virtually no accountability for members assigned to light-duty status within the FDNY.

DOI suggested the FDNY should strengthen communication among the Bureau of Health Services, which assigns light-duty status, the light-duty desk, which makes assignments, and the commands where members are assigned to achieve maximum accountability.

It also recommended that officers responsible for light-duty members be held accountable for their members' whereabouts.

After receiving DOI's preliminary findings, the FDNY implemented a new policy to improve both the utilization and tracking of light-duty personnel. These new accountability measures provide for random, surprise audits of light-duty work locations to confirm the assigned member's presence. The new policy also requires officers and other supervisors to contact the light-duty desk if a member fails to report for work.