Arnaldo Rodriguez became a NYC firefighter in 2013. (Arnaldo Rodriguez)
A New York City firefighter has been paid since 2013 for doing absolutely nothing, The New York Post has learned.
Arnaldo Rodriguez, 40, has been sitting at home for 2¹/₂ years — raking in about $125,000 in salary plus benefits — as the FDNY apparently tries to make up its mind about what to do with him.
“It’s crazy. I’m in limbo land,” Rodriguez said.
The father of two said his saga began 13 years after he joined the FDNY as an EMT. In July 2013, he became a “priority hire” — promoted to firefighter as part of the department’s settlement of a federal racial-discrimination lawsuit.
The promotion was supposed to automatically make him a firefighter with seniority since he was a Hispanic litigant. It would have net him about $85,000 annually, or $35,000 more than he made as an EMT.
But four days after he entered the Fire Academy, he was told to report for a hearing at the office of the chief of personnel, Rodriguez said.
He said that when he showed up, he was asked for his cellphone number and told he no longer had to show up at the academy.
He said he asked why and where he should show up instead and was told: “You work for us. We don’t work for you. We’ll call you — don’t call us.”
He has yet to be assigned anywhere.
Rodriguez and his lawyer, Peter Gleason, said they suspect the department is listing Rodriguez as a firefighter on the books to show compliance with the federal court settlement, but it has no real intention of using him as one.
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