DOI's Investigation into the Parks Department's Lifeguard Division
Department of Investigation · report
DOI investigated the management structure, personnel practices, and disciplinary process of the Department of Parks and Recreation Lifeguard Division after complaints and media reports, finding systemic mismanagement that echoed problems DOI had flagged in the 1990s. DOI found that DPR exercised insufficient oversight, driven largely by a collective bargaining agreement that had the Lifeguard Coordinator report directly to the First Deputy Commissioner, and that the disciplinary process lacked accountability because the hearing officer came from within the Division's chain of command. DOI made 13 recommendations to reform the Division's structure and discipline process, which DPR agreed to pursue.
- Released
- 2021-12-13
- Kind
- Investigation
Key findings
- DPR did not exercise sufficient oversight of the Lifeguard Division, in large part because an expired collective bargaining agreement established a direct reporting relationship between the First Deputy Commissioner and the Lifeguard Coordinator and eliminated intermediate managers; one senior official called the Division a black box. p. 4
- The hearing officer for lifeguard disciplinary cases was a member of the Division's chain of command, unlike other DPR units where hearing officers come from outside the employee's unit, which raised impartiality concerns. p. 9
- Former Lifeguard Coordinator Richard Sher was often nonresponsive to hearing requests, and in one 2014 case involving a senior lifeguard supervisor he held a hearing but never rendered a formal decision, so the matter was administratively closed with no discipline. p. 11
- First Deputy Commissioner Liam Kavanagh responded to only 9 of 18 documented Advocate's Office inquiries on lifeguard disciplinary matters and did not resolve Sher's deficient performance. p. 15
- DOI identified one case in which Kavanagh told the Advocate's Office not to pursue a disciplinary matter against a lifeguard who drove a vehicle over a pedestrian's foot, and found he intervened in at least three other non-lifeguard matters, influencing the disciplinary process. p. 16
- Over a seven-year period, DOI found 13 lifeguard cases closed because of a lack of cooperation or response by the unions, with 12 attributed to a union refusal to schedule interviews or hearings. p. 17
What DOI recommended
- DPR and the Office of Labor Relations should pursue changes in any future collective bargaining agreement to improve the Division's management structure, personnel practices, and disciplinary process. p. 18
- DPR and OLR should eliminate the direct reporting relationship between the Lifeguard Coordinator and the First Deputy Commissioner. p. 18
- DPR should assign intermediate managers to enhance supervision of the Lifeguard Division. p. 18
- DPR should appoint individuals from outside the Division's chain of command to serve as disciplinary hearing officers. p. 19
- DPR must ensure lifeguard disciplinary hearings are scheduled in a timely manner. p. 19
- DPR should ensure the Lifeguard Division maintains sufficient documentation of personnel actions and disciplinary matters. p. 19
- DPR should evaluate assigning individuals from outside the Division to monitor the qualifying swim tests. p. 19
- DPR should ensure all lifeguards receive annual anticorruption, ethics, and sexual harassment trainings arranged by divisions outside the Lifeguard Division. p. 20
Entities in this report
- Department of Parks and Recreation Subject
- District Council 37
- Office of Labor Relations
- District Council 37 Local 461
- District Council 37 Local 508