Even the Appearance of Cheating Is Bad
by Bob Walsh
Jeff Isaacs used to be an Assistant Chief for CalFire out of the Fresno unit. A bit more than a year ago CalFire very nearly ashcanned the whole new Batallion Chief's exam, given in November of 2016. They were going to dump the entire hiring list because it appeared as though Jeff Isaacs helped a home boy cheat on the test.
Isaacs did have a 23 minute phone conversation with a former subordinate shortly after Isaacs learned that he was on the promotion panel. The Candidate, Scott Philips, told an investigator that Isaacs recommended certain areas of study to him in preparation for the upcoming test. Isaacs, now 44, denied it happened.
Phillips was promoted to Captain in 2005. He took the Batallion Chief's test in 2014 and failed. Badly.
There have since been alleged scoring errors attributed to the November 2016 test. People who were told they passed big time were later told that information was in error.
In any event Isaacs was forced to resign last month. Recriminations are still flying.
1 comment:
Sort of reminds me of the interview board. Nudge, Nudge. Wink, Wink.
Anytime individuals score interviews on promotions there are going to be biases or flat out higher or lower scores based upon who they know. It should be eliminated.
Post a Comment