| Date: | 06/11/2026 |
|---|---|
| Organization: | Civil Service Commission |
| Docket Number: | I-26-081 |
The Commission denied the request of a Fall River Fire Captain to investigate matters related to the promotion of a Temporary Deputy Fire Chief as there was no reasonable expectation that he would be able to show any violation of the civil service law or rules on the part of the City.
CSC Law Clerk Edward Groome assisted with the drafting of this Response.
Background
On April 8, 2026, the Petitioner, Eric Caffrey, a Captain in the City of Fall River (City)’s Fire Department (Department), whose name appears second on the current civil service eligible list for both District Fire Chief as well as Deputy Fire Chief, filed a request for investigation with the Civil Service Commission (Commission) related to the selection process for a recent promotion to Temporary Deputy Fire Chief.
On May 26, 2026, I held a remote show cause conference which was attended by the Petitioner, representatives of the Petitioner’s union, representatives of the Department, and the Department’s counsel. The parties provided their positions at the show cause conference, which are summarized below, along with the relevant facts.
Summary of the Parties’ Positions
The Petitioner took and passed the promotional exams for the positions of both District Fire Chief and Deputy Fire Chief and is currently ranked second on each eligible list. First, the Petitioner alleges that during his promotional interview, he was presented with a case scenario in which the hypothetical facts were strikingly similar to work and personal issues related to the Appellant that he had raised privately with members of the Department’s command staff. The Petitioner asserts that this adversely impacted his performance during the interview. Second, the Petitioner alleges that after this interview members of the command staff asked him to remove his name from the Deputy Fire Chief eligible list altogether.
The candidate ranked first on the Deputy Fire Chief eligible list was promoted to Temporary Deputy Fire Chief.
At the show cause conference, the Fire Chief acknowledged that the Petitioner had been asked to remove his name from the eligible list for Deputy Chief and that he had considered asking the state’s Human Resources Division (HRD) to remove his name if the Petitioner chose not to do so voluntarily. After consulting with HRD, the Fire Chief has opted not to file such a request; he will not make a further request to the Petitioner; and the Petitioner will be considered for any permanent or temporary promotions to Deputy Fire Chief so long as he is within the statutory 2N+1 formula applicable to promotional appointments. Regarding the case scenario questions during the interview, the Fire Chief stated that there was no intent to allude to personal or work-related issues pertaining to the Appellant, but he understands how the Petitioner could harbor this concern.
Commission’s Authority to Conduct Investigations
The Commission, established pursuant to G.L. c. 7, § 4I, is an independent, neutral appellate tribunal and investigative entity. Section 2(a) of Chapter 31 grants the Commission broad discretion upon receipt of an alleged violation of the civil service law’s provisions to decide whether and to what extent an investigation might be appropriate. Further, Section 72 of Chapter 31 provides for the Commission to “investigate all or part of the official and labor services, the work, duties and compensation of the persons employed in such services, the number of persons employed in such services and the titles, ratings and methods of promotion in such services.” The Commission exercises its discretion to investigate only “sparingly,” typically only when there is clear and convincing evidence of systemic violations of Chapter 31 or an entrenched political or personal bias that can be rectified through the Commission’s affirmative remedial intervention.
Commission’s Response
First, the Petitioner cannot demonstrate that he has suffered any harm that would warrant an investigation by the Commission. He was not bypassed for temporary promotion to the position of Deputy Fire Chief. Rather, the candidate promoted to Temporary Deputy Fire Chief was ranked first on the eligible list. Although promotional interviews are consistent with best practices, the Department was free to promote the first-ranked candidate on the eligible list regardless of his or her interview performance. Generally, the Commission’s review in such cases is only triggered when a candidate is bypassed for promotional appointment based on the candidates’ respective interview performances, which is not the case here. Put another way, while the City believed that the first-ranked candidate performed better during the interview, they were permitted to promote that first-ranked candidate regardless of his interview performance.
Second, the Petitioner’s claim that he has been asked to remove himself from the eligible list for Deputy Fire Chief is now moot. The Department, now armed with more information, has apparently decided that the high threshold for granting such a request cannot be met here and will continue to consider the Appellant for any future vacancies – and permit him to work in an acting capacity to cover vacation and other shifts of his colleagues. More globally, the Petitioner has not pointed to any systemic violations of civil service law occurring—or any entrenched political or personal bias that warrants intervention by the Commission.
For the above reasons, I recommend that the Commission deny the Petitioner’s request for investigation.
Civil Service Commission
Christopher C. Bowman
Christopher C. Bowman
Chair
On June 11, 2026, the Commission (Bowman, Chair; Dooley, Markey, McConney and Stein, Commissioners) voted to accept the recommendation of the Chair and deny the Petitioners’ request for investigation.
Notice:
Eric Caffrey (Petitioner)
Gary Howayeck, Esq. (for Fall River Fire Department)
Michele Heffernan, Esq. (HRD)
Stephanie Andino (HRD)
