The struggle for equal opportunity in the workplace has notched a significant victory in Durham, North Carolina, where a discriminatory practice has met its end. The Justice Department has announced a settlement agreement with the City of Durham, aimed at resolving claims that the city's fire department engaged in hiring practices that were unjust toward Black applicants, specifically through the use of a written test believed to be biased against them. The agreement marks a substantial move towards fairer employment processes within the city's Fire Department.
Discrimination, be it intentional or through practices that result in a disparate impact, is prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Nevertheless, the Durham Fire Department has been found to administer a written test that failed not only to accurately measure an applicant's capability to perform as a firefighter but also to disproportionately disqualify Black candidates. "Discriminatory employment tests do more than cost applicants a fair chance to compete for public service jobs like firefighting; they also prevent communities from being served in these crucial positions by the most qualified candidates for the job," Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division stated on the Department of Justice. The consent decree has laid out clear steps for the Durham Fire Department to reform its selection processes and to also offer monetary compensation to those adversely affected by the previously biased system.
The Justice Department began its investigation into the DFD's hiring practices in February 2020, conducting a thorough analysis, which led to the determination that the DFD's use of the Comprehensive Examination Battery (CEB) testing method was not consistent with business necessity and did not correlate reasonably with job performance. Moreover, the complaint filed by the department underscores that such practices were rightfully in violation of Title VII. "Employers should identify and eliminate practices that have a disparate impact based on race," U.S. Attorney Sandra J. Hairston for the Middle District of North Carolina has pointed out on the Department of Justice.
Per the terms of the agreed consent decree, the Durham Fire Department is now required to adopt and to fairly administer a non-discriminatory written test and to transparently share resulting data to ensure compliance. In addition, the DFD is directed to pay $980,000 in back pay to those applicants previously disqualified under the challenged testing system and to potentially hire up to 16 applicants who were unfairly impacted by the old test, should they successfully complete the new selection process.