Bill > A05490

This bill amends the civil service law to provide municipal police departments with more flexibility in hiring practices to improve workforce diversity. Specifically, if a police department's ethnic, racial, or gender composition differs from the community it serves by 25% or more, the municipal commission may use alternate hiring lists beyond its own, including county lists or lists from surrounding municipalities. These alternate lists can include both resident and non-resident minority group members (as defined by the executive law) and women. The goal is to help police departments achieve a workforce that more closely represents the community they serve. Police departments must hire from these alternate lists using merit and fitness criteria and following the existing "rule of three" hiring process, which typically means selecting from the top three candidates on a list. Once the department's composition more closely matches the community demographics, it must return to using its own eligible list for hiring. This change aims to address representation gaps in local law enforcement by providing a structured approach to diversifying police department personnel.

Labor and Employment

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A5490