Judges orders millions paid in NYC firefighter bias case

[alp227]

Source: CNN

A U.S. district judge ordered New York City to pay $128 million in to firefighters who allege the city used an entrance exam that deliberately sought to keep African-Americans and Latino Americans off the force. The judge also ordered the FDNY to hire 293 black and Latino applicants.

"It has been in the city's power to prevent or remedy the need for damages proceedings for a decade, and it has not done so," U.S. District Judge Nicholas G. Garufis said in his ruling on the class action lawsuit. He called it the "consequences of the city's decision to ignore clear violations of federal law."

The federal government had sued the city (United States of America and Vulcan Society Inc. vs. City of New York) alleging the city violated the U.S. Constitution and local civil rights laws by using an entrance exam intentionally designed to discriminate based on race.

The lawsuit alleged that the exams had little to do with firefighting and instead focused on cognitive and reading skills. Because of the hereditary nature of the fire department, white candidates were recruited and supported throughout the application process by family or neighborhood contacts and whites consistently passed while minority candidates failed.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/08/us/new-york-firefighter-lawsuit-bias/index.html

[Kolesar]

1. My activist friend took petitions to the fire fighters' union hall and none would sign it

The issue was a Democratic petition to undo the voter restrictions that the Ohio Republicans had just passed. The fire fighters were enthusiastic about us helping them with Issue 2 to end Gov Kasich's union busting law. When it came to a broader progressive issue, the fire fighters said "fuck off".

Even the union leaders would not sign our petition. Stupid fucks

[Omaha Steve]

2. K&R!

[ProgressiveProfessor]

3. One of the problems with ethnic and race based hiring is determining who qualifies

Its self declared, and at least in the Federal system, it can not be challenged.

[nanabugg]

5. The unintended consequences of racism within the NYFD was that there was a disportionate number

of white firemen assigned to the city (ususally considered soft job0 instead of being assigned out to the boroughs minority neighborhoods. The city a assigned jobs were considered to be plum jobs with best pay and overtime. At the same time, the jobs in Harlem, Jamaica, etc were less desirable and required less safe working conditions. 9/11 changed that somewhat.

[pennylane100]

6. The numbers speak to the fact that there was discrimination in hiring policies.

I wonder what the numbers are for women firefighters. The only thing I am not clear on, is how a test can be written so it excludes certain groups. Please save any flaming, I have no doubt there was discrimination, I am just curious on how it was done.

[Snake Alchemist]

7. This article is poorly written. Are they trying to say that minorities can't compete in

cognitive and reading skills?

I'm old enough to remember when unions were father-son in NY so a lot of this is not a surprise.