The city of Fayetteville will seek an outside review of its recruitment practices at the Fire Department, which lags behind many other cities at hiring minorities.
City Manager Doug Hewett announced Monday night he has asked the Raleigh office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to review the department’s hiring practices, after several Fayetteville City Council members have grown concerned that only about 3 percent of firefighters are black or another minority.
“Like the council, I want to make sure that if there is something that we could do better, that we’ll do it,” Hewett told the council.
The federal commission enforces laws that make it illegal to discriminate against job applicants.
In recent years, the city has sought independent reviews for the Police Department to improve its policies and procedures.