JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SETTLES SUIT AGAINST CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA FOR RACIAL DISCRIMINATION AND RETALIATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.- The Justice Department announced today that it has settled a racial discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida for a total of $455,000 in victim's compensatory damages.

The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, alleges that the city of Fort Lauderdale violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, by denying an African-American employee, Elgin O. Jones, promotion to the position of Engineering Inspector I because of his race. The lawsuit further alleges that the city retaliated against Mr. Jones when he complained that he had been denied promotion for discriminatory reasons.

The Justice Department's lawsuit was filed after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission referred the victim's complaint to the Department's Civil Rights Division for investigation.

The settlement agreement, subject to the court's approval, provides that the city agree to:

federal oversight of its hiring practices for the Engineering Inspector I position for a minimum of two years;

revise its policies against discrimination, retaliation and harassment; and

provide anti-discrimination training to employees of the agencies in which the discrimination and retaliation against the victim occurred.

This case was prosecuted by the Employment Litigation Section of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. Additional information about the Employment Litigation Section is available on the Department of Justice's website at http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/emp/index.html.

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