and taxpayers foot the $30 million damages bill.
Chicago will hire 111 bypassed black firefighters by March 2012 and pay at least $30 million in damages to some 6,000 others who will never get that chance, under a court order expected to be approved Wednesday by a federal judge.
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously agreed that African-American candidates did not wait too long before filing a lawsuit that accused the city of discriminating against them for the way it handled a 1995 firefighter’s entrance exam.
A federal appeals court affirmed that ruling in May and remanded the case back to the trial court to implement a hiring remedy the city had been stalling.
Now, both sides have agreed on that plan and how it should be implemented.
“We’re extremely pleased that, after all these years, this long-running legal fight is coming to an end,” said plaintiffs’ attorney Matt Piers.
Noting that Chicago taxpayers are liable for an additional $500,000 in back pay for every month the hiring is delayed, Piers said, “The attitude of the Emanuel administration has been to attempt to resolve this as quickly as possible.”
more...
City to pay $30 million, hire 111 black firefighters - Chicago Sun-Times
111 black firefighters to be added to Chicago Fire Department after court order finalized following discrimination lawsuit | abc7chicago.com
Chicago will hire 111 bypassed black firefighters by March 2012 and pay at least $30 million in damages to some 6,000 others who will never get that chance, under a court order expected to be approved Wednesday by a federal judge.
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously agreed that African-American candidates did not wait too long before filing a lawsuit that accused the city of discriminating against them for the way it handled a 1995 firefighter’s entrance exam.
A federal appeals court affirmed that ruling in May and remanded the case back to the trial court to implement a hiring remedy the city had been stalling.
Now, both sides have agreed on that plan and how it should be implemented.
“We’re extremely pleased that, after all these years, this long-running legal fight is coming to an end,” said plaintiffs’ attorney Matt Piers.
Noting that Chicago taxpayers are liable for an additional $500,000 in back pay for every month the hiring is delayed, Piers said, “The attitude of the Emanuel administration has been to attempt to resolve this as quickly as possible.”
more...
City to pay $30 million, hire 111 black firefighters - Chicago Sun-Times
111 black firefighters to be added to Chicago Fire Department after court order finalized following discrimination lawsuit | abc7chicago.com