Baltimore County, located in Maryland, has been found guilty of race discrimination, and a $2,000,000 settlement has been reached to compensate African American applicants who were denied employment due to biased hiring practices. The settlement, announced by the Justice Department, resolves a lawsuit filed against the Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD) alleging that it discriminated against African American applicants for employment in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The lawsuit, filed on Aug. 27, 2019, claimed that the BCPD made hiring decisions for entry-level police officer and cadet positions based on the results of hiring examinations that were not job-related and that disproportionately excluded African American applicants since Jan. 1, 2013. The BCPD allegedly violated Title VII by discriminating against African Americans in the hiring process.
Assistant Attorney General Eric S. Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division stated, “This country’s communities are better protected and better served when police departments, like the one in Baltimore County, recruit and select qualified officers using job-related criteria. When police departments fail to do so, and instead disproportionately screen out members of protected classes, they violate federal law.”
Under the terms of the settlement agreement, subject to court approval, Baltimore County will pay $2,000,000 in back pay to eligible African Americans who were previously denied employment. The BCPD also must hire up to twenty of these previous applicants as entry-level police officers or cadets after they demonstrate that they meet BCPD’s current qualifications for hire and successfully complete the county’s other selection requirements.
The settlement agreement requires the county to develop a new hiring examination that is lawful under Title VII. In a joint filing today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, the Justice Department and Baltimore County moved for a court order provisionally approving the terms of the settlement agreement. The motion also asks the court to schedule a fairness hearing to provide an opportunity for individuals potentially affected by the proposed agreement to provide comments on the terms of the settlement.
The case was brought by Trial Attorneys Kathleen Lawrence and Ejaz Baluch Jr. of the Civil Rights Division’s Employment Litigation Section. The full and fair enforcement of Title VII is a top priority of the Justice Department’s Employment Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division.
Mandatory Facts:
Defendant/Respondent: Baltimore County
Criminal Charges: Violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
City and State: Baltimore, Maryland
Date: Aug. 27, 2019 (lawsuit filed)
Sentence/Outcome: $2,000,000 settlement, hiring of up to 20 African American applicants, and development of a new hiring examination
Dollar Amount: $2,000,000
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Key Facts
- State: Maryland
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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