Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone
The US Department of Justice has dismissed race discrimination lawsuits brought against several fire departments, including the Durham, North Carolina and Cobb County, Georgia, fire departments. The departments were accused of unintentional discrimination based upon a statistical analysis showing that hiring practices resulted in a disparate impact on African Americans.
The DOJ dismissed a slew of similar suit brought against police departments across the country. The suits typically resulted in consent decrees whereby the departments agreed to various sorts of reforms to the hiring practices along with monetary payments to those who may have been impacted. In the Durham case, the parties were reportedly close to reaching an agreement on a consent decree.
