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NEW YORK CITY AND ITS BOARD OF EDUCATION SETTLE
DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT WITH THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Women and minorities will not be discriminated against when applying for custodian jobs with the New York City Board of Education, under an agreement reached today with the Justice Department.
Today's settlement, filed in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, resolves allegations that the City of New York, the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (formerly the Department of Personnel) and the New York City Board of Education engaged in a pattern of discrimination against blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and women in their recruitment for Custodian and Custodian Engineer positions. It also resolves allegations that they discriminated against blacks and Hispanics by using four written examinations for hiring and promoting Custodians and Custodian Engineers.
In a suit filed in 1996, the Department said the entry-level and promotional written examinations used by the City in 1985, 1989 and 1993 unlawfully discriminated against qualified black and Hispanic test-takers, in part, because the exams could not be shown to measure how well individuals would perform on the job.
"I am pleased by the settlement of this litigation. Today's agreement paints a clear picture for all employers that the Justice Department will not tolerate discriminatory recruitment practices based on race, national origin or gender, or the use of examinations that exclude minorities and are not job-related," said Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Bill Lann Lee.
The agreement, which must be approved by the court, prohibits the defendants from discriminating on the basis of race, national origin or gender in the recruitment or the selection of any employee, applicant or prospective applicant for employment, for the positions of Custodian and Custodian Engineer with the New York City Board of Education.
Under the agreement, the defendants will:
- implement a comprehensive recruitment program designed to increase the number of qualified black, Hispanic, Asian and female applicants for employment as Custodians and Custodian Engineers;
- consult with designated experts when developing new written examinations and ensure that any new exam complies with the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures;
- provide permanent civil service status to 43 blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and women who were serving as temporary Custodians and Custodian Engineers; and
- provides retroactive seniority, including pension relief to 54 black, Hispanic, Asian, and female incumbent Custodians and Custodian Engineers.
Under the terms of the agreement, the defendants will also no longer use the four written examinations challenged in the lawsuit and cannot establish an eligibility list from another written examination, which was administered in December 1997, and not challenged in the lawsuit, until they consult with an expert designated by the Justice Department on ways to reduce the examination's discriminatory effects.
If entered by the Court, the settlement will expire in February 2003.# # #
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