Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone
Reverse discrimination lawsuits filed against the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut, by twelve white and Hispanic firefighters alleging reverse discrimination were settled on December 1, 2009. The law suit filed in federal court in April alleged that the city had illegally denied promotions to the white and Hispanic firefighters by rescoring a 2006 lieutenant promotional exam.
Oddly enough, the rescoring took place in July, 2008 and resulted in three lieutenants being demoted based upon the rescoring. The city changed the original promotional grading formula from 50 percent written, 45 percent oral and 5 percent seniority to 75 percent oral and 25 percent written to help the minority candidates.
The Bridgeport case had many of the same earmarks of the recent U.S. Supreme Court case involving the New Haven fire department. The Bridgeport settlement requires the city to reinstate the three demoted firefighters to the rank they held in 2007, and firefighters who passed the exam as per the original scoring will be promoted granting them back pay and seniority retroactive to August 2008. The legal fees of $75,000 will also be paid by the city.
