Judge Finds Prima Facia Evidence of Discrimination in Jacksonville

A US District Court Judge has found that the Department of Justice has successfully established a prima facia case of race discrimination against Jacksonville (FL) Fire Rescue in regards to their promotional process.

On Tuesday, District Court Judge Timothy J. Corrigan concluded that the DOJ established “statistical evidence of a kind and degree sufficient to show that the practice in question has caused the exclusion of applicants for jobs or promotions because of their membership in a protected group.”

The DOJ brought the case in 2012 alleging that the department’s promotional process discriminated against African Americans. After reviewing statistical evidence, Judge Corrigan concluded that the evidence showed a disparate impact in nine of the ten tests in question.

The ruling is not the end of the case. Now that the DOJ has established a prima facia case, the burden shifts to the city “to establish that the challenged employment practice serves a legitimate, non-discriminatory business objective.” If the city is successful, the DOJ “may still prevail by proving that an alternative, non-discriminatory practice would have served the defendant’s stated objective equally as well.”

Here is a copy of Judge Corrigan’s order: US v. Jacksonville-order

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