NY State Settles Discrimination Complaints With Fire Companies

The New York State Division of Human Rights has announced the settlement of discrimination complaints against three fire departments, the Brookhaven Fire District and Fire Department, the Levittown Fire District and Fire Department, and the Holbrook Fire District and Volunteer Department. The complaints go back several years, but the settlements were announced earlier this week.

Brookhaven and Levittown were accused of allowing the display of Confederate flags on Fire Department property. All three departments were accused of discriminatory membership policies, because their applications requested information about national origin, religion, and other protected classes.

The settlement agreements required the departments to amend their membership applications and policies to comply with the New York State Human Rights Law, participate in training on the Human Rights Law, and pay civil fines to the State of New York totaling $28,000.

Quoting from the Division of Human Rights’ press release:

• In filing these complaints, the Division asserted that the Confederate flag is a historical symbol of racism and that its display by the Brookhaven Fire Department and Levittown Fire Department violated the New York State Human Rights Law by conveying a discriminatory message and thereby limiting the public’s ability to rely on and utilize the critical fire and EMS services provided by these Departments, as well as discouraging prospective applicants from seeking to join their Departments.
• As part of the settlements announced today, the Fire Districts and Fire Departments agreed to remove depictions of the Confederate flag from their equipment, property, apparel, websites, and social media accounts and to adopt policies prohibiting its display – or the display of other hate symbols – in the future. Both Districts and Departments also agreed to have all District Commissioners and Department members participate in training on the Human Rights Law.
• In complaints against the Holbrook Fire District and Volunteer Department, the Brookhaven Fire District and Fire Department, and the Levittown Fire District and Department, the Division alleged that the respondents’ membership applications unlawfully asked questions about applicants’ protected classes and maintained by-laws unlawfully stipulating that only United States citizens were eligible to become members of the Departments.
• The New York State Human Rights Law prohibits professional or volunteer fire departments from discriminating against or denying membership to individuals on the basis of their race, color, religion, national origin, marital status, and other protected classes. The Human Rights Law further prohibits entities from asking about or taking adverse actions against an applicant for a volunteer position based on an arrest or criminal accusation not currently pending against that individual.