New Bias Claim Against FDNY By U.S. EEOC

New Bias Claim Against FDNY By U.S. EEOC

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Dec. 14 forwarded a second discrimination claim against the Fire Department by black Firefighter applicants to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The latest claim was first filed with the EEOC by the Center for Constitutional Rights last February on behalf of three applicants who said the FDNY's written entrance exam unfairly limited their chances of getting hired. The complaint also listed any "similarly affected" African-Americans, opening the door for a classaction suit if other low-scoring applicants come forward.

Passed But Low on List

The CCR said that the three individuals passed the written FDNY test given in December 2002, but scored too low to expect to be hired within the four-year period that the list they were on would be used.

Building on a similar case brought by the Vulcan Society, an organization of black FDNY firefighters, the CCR argued to the EEOC that there is no relationship between the skills the test measures and the skills it takes to be a good firefighter, and that the written test eliminates black candidates who traditionally don't score well on standardized exams.

The EEOC upheld the Vulcan Society's claim earlier this year and forwarded it to the Justice Department for further investigation. The EEOC ruled in favor of this latest claim on Nov. 29, but gave the FDNY two weeks to try and formulate a solution.

When the department didn't respond, the case was turned over to the Justice Department Dec. 14. It's been folded into the larger claim filed by the Vulcan Society against the FDNY's hiring practices.

Wider Potential Impact

Shayana Kadidal said the second discrimination claim could potentially be more damaging to the FDNY because it was filed on behalf of three applicants and "all similarly affected African-Americans." Also, these plaintiffs could demonstrate tangible financial damages for every year they weren't working as firefighters.

"There's probably an average of 1,300 African-Americans affected by this situation every exam. Figure the average yearly salary for firefighters, with overtime, is around $50,000," he said. "Multiply that by 1,300 and you're talking about a lot of money. By including all similarly affected African-Americans, this case is essentially a class-action lawsuit."

The CCR and the Vulcan Society have both said they would have preferred to deal with the city instead of the EEOC and Justice Department. They said they've offered the FDNY several "constructive solutions" that have successfully been implemented in other cities.

'Ball in Mayor's Court'

"It's disappointing that the city has never come to the negotiating table in the 3-1/2 years these matters have been before the EEOC," Mr. Kadidal said. "Even now, the ball is in the Mayor's court. It remains to be seen whether he is committed to fixing the problem or committed to doing nothing and waiting for the Justice Department and courts to do the work for him."

The FDNY has said that increasing diversity is a top priority for the department. It's set aside $1.3 million for year-round recruitment and other diversity initiatives, and started high school programs to attract new applicants. Between 1990 and 1999, 5.4 percent of the nearly 5,000 firefighters hired were black, Latino or Asian. Between 2000 and March this year, the percentage nearly tripled, to 15.6 percent of 4,994 new hires.

The Vulcan Society responded that while the department's minority numbers are up overall, blacks only comprise 2.9 percent of the FDNY's workforce, despite representing 25 percent of the city's labor pool.