Justice Department Files Employment Discrimination Lawsuit Against Baltimore County Alleging Race Discrimination by Its Police Department in the Hiring of Entry-Level Police Officers and Cadets

The Department of Justice announced today that it has filed an employment discrimination lawsuit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) against Baltimore County and the Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD).  The lawsuit alleges that since Jan. 1, 2013, BCPD has engaged in unintended employment discrimination against African American applicants for entry-level police officer and cadet positions by making hiring decisions based on the results of hiring examinations that were not job-related and that disproportionately excluded African American applicants.  Through this lawsuit, the United States seeks a Court order that would require BCPD to utilize selection procedures that comply with Title VII, and to provide individual remedies to African American former applicants who are shown to be entitled to them.

“Employers must be mindful that an employment selection device, like a test, must be shown to be job-related if it disproportionately excludes members of one of Title VII’s protected groups,” stated Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

Title VII is a federal law that prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, and religion.  More information about Title VII and other federal employment laws is available on the Civil Rights Division’s website at www.justice.gov/crt.