After a layoff scare two weeks ago, LCI’s Frank D’Amore (pictured) is coming back to City Hall.
The news came due to a last-minute decision by Gary Hogan, Livable City Initiative’s deputy director, to retire instead of bumping his colleague out of a job. Hogan was one of 27 city workers hit by a round of layoffs on Feb. 27. Through seniority, he bumped D’Amore out of his job as deputy director of the property division, on March 13.
Hogan announced his retirement on Monday, the last possible day before a deadline, according to Emmet Hibson, Jr., who oversees the city’s human resources and labor relations departments.
A second victim of the layoff wave has also been hired back, according to the latest personnel action report. (Click here to read it.)
Reginald Thomas, a civilian review coordinator in the Chief Administrative Office, was laid off on Feb. 27. The job was not a union position. He’s being hired back on a part-time basis, at $37.11 per hour, not to exceed 19 hours per week.
The news came as three city workers lost their jobs on Friday.
Fiondella Filomena, an elderly services specialist, was bumped out of a job after the city rescinded her colleague’s layoff last week.
Also Friday, two clerks who worked on the school construction project were laid off because of “insufficient funds.” The positions were partially funded by a state grant to the $1.5 billion citywide school construction program, Hibson said. The undertaking is nearing completion, and the mayor recently slowed down construction on the few remaining projects amid a budget crisis. With less construction, and fewer grant dollars coming in, the city decided to let the two workers go, Hibson said. The clerks worked on minority hiring requirements, a process overseen by the Commission on Equal Opportunities, Hibson said.
In the same week as those layoffs, the city hired three new employees:
— Public Health Nurse, full-time, $43,222 annual salary, effective April 6.
— Seasonal Caretaker of Parks, up to 40 hours per week, $9 per hour, effective March 30.
— Traffic Maintenance Worker, full-time, $43,222 annual salary, effective March 30.
Some labor leaders have called for a hiring freeze, calling it unfair to hire new workers amid layoffs.
Mayor John DeStefano, Jr. has repeatedly publicly stated that he would continue to fill some vacant jobs, including nurses and police. He has also argued for the value of a part-time workforce, including in the parks department. He has said when the city can’t afford to support full-time employees, the part-time jobs are a way to offer New Haven residents some needed income.
Welcome back Frank- You have always been a get things done kinda guy- the city needs more public servants like you.