 Garaufis received his commission on May 25, 2000 and entered service on August 28, 2000.Garaufis took senior status on October 1, 2014.In 2007, the United States Department of Justice, joined by the Vulcan Society, an organization of black firefighters, and three individual applicants, filed a lawsuit against New York City alleging that the city’s written firefighter entrance exam excluded a disproportionate number of black and Hispanic applicants.