Bending the rules to accomodate

Professur

Professur

Well-Known Member
Not this time
Firefighter forced to take exam after birth




HOUSTON (AP) - A firefighter took a promotion exam just 12 hours after she gave birth because of a state law requiring all promotion candidates to be tested at once.

Beda Kent gave birth Jan. 10, slept for a little more than two hours, popped some painkillers and braced herself to take the exam. She scored 104 out of 110 and expects to return from maternity leave in March as a captain.

"It was uncomfortable," Kent told the Houston Chronicle last week. "I had my Motrin - thank God - but that only lasts for so long."

Civil service regulations require anyone seeking promotion to take the exam at an appointed time unless the firefighter is on active military duty, district chief Jack Williams told the newspaper. He said firefighters given a reprieve may receive an unfair advantage by learning about the exam from other test-takers.

Terese Floren, executive director of Women in the Fire Service Inc., said Tuesday the Houston Fire Department was probably powerless because of the law.

"The test is given once and only once, and no one is ever given an exception," she said.

Promotion tests are given only periodically because they are expensive to develop and require a department's entire command staff to administer, Floren said.

Floren said women shouldn't be forced to choose between having a family and a career within the fire department.

Kent, who has worked for the Houston Fire Department for 12 years, opted to take the test because missing it would have meant waiting at least two years before the next promotion exam. She was about six months pregnant when the test was announced in October.

"I really needed to take it," Kent told the newspaper.

Williams was in meetings Tuesday and did not immediately return a call to The Associated Press.

Kent, who had to leave her healthy newborn daughter, Brina Sue, at the hospital within hours of giving birth, said the department should accommodate those with legitimate medical excuses.

"It was hard to leave her," Kent said.
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Source
 
Ridiculous

You think that when they announced it and she expressed a desire to be tested they could have postponed the whole thing until March...I mean...REALLY!
 
Professur said:
And enter the other side of the conversation. And why, exactly, would they do that, sunshine?
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Because, it only occurs once every two years and she was already in a condition where she (and prolly everyone else) knew taking it at the scheduled time would be incovenient for her...it's the decent, uman thing to do. If the test was set a year ago and she got knocked up after the date was set that's her tough shit, she should kept her legs together if she wanted to test..but she was already six months pregnant!
 
So they're gonna delay for her medical condition. Then perhaps they sould delay if because Joe from station 12 has the sniffles? Or Mathilda over at station 4 has her period that week?
 
Why not have more than one test so they're not identical. Anyone with a valid emergency could schedule to take the other test after the fact.

I don't think moving all the other testers to another date on account of one person would be fair.
 
He said firefighters given a reprieve may receive an unfair advantage by learning about the exam from other test-takers.
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How about multiple tests? What about the people who took the test two, 4, 6, 8, 10 years ago?
 
Wait, can't hold it that day. That's a Muslim holy Day and Mohammed from central couldn't make it.

Paul can't make it anytime but thursday because of the daycare schedule.

Theresa and Bill had a fight and she's emotionally a wreck.
 
If someone does something after the test date is set or if something happens to someone after it's already set then that's their tough shit IMO. But, if they set it right around when a woman is suppose to have a baby or someone is scheduled to have surgery that is just in bad taste IMHO.

Maybe they should change their policy to give notice of atleast a year before testing...then if someone is about to pop they can't say they didn't know :shrug:
 
Stipulations on what is considered valid reason to postpone (death, birth, dismemberment) and only allow reschedules 30 days after test.
 
I would have ventured to guess that since the posts were only four minutes apart, maybe when Gonz loaded this thread for the first time Trish's post wasn't there yet.
 
Men don't get Preggers.

I applaud the woman for taking her test

"What a man!"

Now show me a guy that can drop a kid and take a test
twelve hours later and I'll show you...
 
Texas fire chief: Rule may be revised




HOUSTON (AP) - A firefighter who was forced to leave her newborn baby in order to take a promotion exam says the department could have made things easier by letting her take the test at the hospital.

Beda Kent had to write the exam just 12 hours after giving birth because of a state law that requires all promotion candidates be tested at one time.

"I wanted that promotion," Kent said of the job she had sought for two years. "I feel I was overdue for this promotion."

Kent says back when she was six months pregnant, she learned the test would be given on Jan. 11, just four days after her due date.

She asked if a proctor could administer the exam at the hospital if necessary, but was told there could be no exceptions, except for firefighters on active military duty.

Houston Fire Capt. Gilbert Bennett said the rules are intended to ensure that firefighters don't gain an unfair advantage by learning about the exam from test-takers, then taking it later.

Bennett said the fire department would likely evaluate the regulation. "By all means, we want what is best for the child and the mom," he said.

Kent's doctor tried to induce labour on Jan. 4, but discovered doing so could cause complications and force a caesarean birth, with a longer recovery that would take away from Kent's time to study.

Kent, a 12-year veteran of the Houston Fire Department, gave birth to her daughter Brina Sue on Jan. 10. She was able to sleep for a little more than two hours and take some painkillers before heading out to take the exam.

She scored 104 out of 110 and expects to return from maternity leave in March as a captain with a $6,000 US raise.

Terese Floren, executive director of Women in the Fire Service Inc., acknowledged that the fire department was probably powerless because of the law, but said women shouldn't be forced to choose between having a family and a career.

Kent said she decided to go ahead and take the test because missing it would have meant waiting at least two years before the next promotion exam.

Still, she said, the department should accommodate those with legitimate medical excuses.

"The law said that they didn't have to, but they could have sent a proctor," Kent said. "The test is in a sealed envelope. It shouldn't have been a problem."

An ambulance was on standby at the test site just in case, she said.

"After a while, it did get to be uncomfortable, and thank God they did give us 2 1/2 hours to take the test because I had to readjust and refocus," Kent said.

After the exam, Kent's insurance did not allow her to be readmitted to the hospital so she and her husband had to return every four to five hours to nurse the new baby.

"We made the best of it for the next 36 hours," Kent said. "It was tough."
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Forced? FORCED????? She wanted money. Period. And was willing to not only risk endangering the baby by inducing, but to abandon it at the hospital for the sake of money.

All because someone wouldn't accomodate her. Aw boo fucking hoo.
 
greenfreak said:
Why not have more than one test so they're not identical. Anyone with a valid emergency could schedule to take the other test after the fact.

I don't think moving all the other testers to another date on account of one person would be fair.
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It has to be the same exact test to all takers so that no cries of unfairness or racism can be raised. Some of the tests would be deemed more difficult than others under the eyes of the law making it impossible to determine a true score of qualifications for each candidate. Remember... we're talking about a civil service agency of the government, run by the government, tested and controlled by the government, all wrapped up in a union sandwich. The end result is almost always red tape, complication, and sterile results.
 
Terese Floren, executive director of Women in the Fire Service Inc., acknowledged that the fire department was probably powerless because of the law, but said women shouldn't be forced to choose between having a family and a career.
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Men aren't given that choice.
 
They most certainly should. Career or child. Both will suffer if she decides to attempt each simultaneously. A child should not be brought into the world for strangers to raise.

BMW or flesh...DECIDE.
 
I think you're making too much of it. She didn't say she was going to sue them or anything. Just that the department should have more consideration for those with legitimate medical reasons. She didn't ask for special treatment just for herself, but really a change in the way the whole system works in future so that anyone (male or female) with a valid reason could benefit. And she gave a few viable options, like having the test done seperately, with an invigilator - don't see the problem in that.

Why should special consideration be given to someone doing active military duty, but not to someone with a legitimate medical reason? Sounds rather stupid. And saying that the tests are difficult to put together because he entire management needs to be part of it....what the heck for?

IMO she deserves that promotion if only for scoring so highly under such circumstances.
 
AlphaTroll said:
I think you're making too much of it. She didn't say she was going to sue them or anything. Just that the department should have more consideration for those with legitimate medical reasons. She didn't ask for special treatment just for herself, but really a change in the way the whole system works in future so that anyone (male or female) with a valid reason could benefit. And she gave a few viable options, like having the test done seperately, with an invigilator - don't see the problem in that.

Why should special consideration be given to someone doing active military duty, but not to someone with a legitimate medical reason? Sounds rather stupid. And saying that the tests are difficult to put together because he entire management needs to be part of it....what the heck for?

IMO she deserves that promotion if only for scoring so highly under such circumstances.
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It's the government. It'd be surprising if it sounded anything other than stupid.
 
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