Friday, February 27, 2009
DAYTON (AP) — The Justice Department and the city of Dayton agreed Thursday to settle a lawsuit that accuses the city of discriminating against blacks in its hiring of police officers and firefighters.
If approved by U.S. District Court, the agreement requires the city to develop new selection procedures and to pay $450,000 to blacks harmed by past selection procedures.
“This settlement agreement sends a clear message that hiring practices that have discriminatory impact on account of race will not be tolerated,” said Loretta King, acting assistant attorney general for justice department’s civil rights division.
The government’s lawsuit, which was filed in September, alleges the city’s use of heightened qualifications for firefighters and a written police officer examination have resulted in employment discrimination against blacks.
About 68 percent of white candidates passed the city’s most recent written police examination compared with 29 percent of black candidates, the justice department said.