City of Durham Enters Settlement Agreement with the U.S. DOJ Over Fire Department’s Hiring Practices

DOJ Says Test Unintentionally Resulted in Discrimination Against African American Applicants

The City of Durham has entered into a consent decree, or settlement agreement, with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding its contention that the Durham Fire Department (DFD) engaged in an unintended pattern or practice of discrimination against African American applicants related to its use of a standardized written test in its entry-level hiring process.

Specifically, DOJ alleges that the DFD's use of the Comprehensive Examination Battery (CEB), a standardized written examination developed by Fire and Police Solutions, Inc. (FPSI) and used by the department since 2015 to select which applicants get interviews, resulted in unintentional discrimination against African American applicants for entry-level firefighter jobs. According to DOJ, DFD's use of the test violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because data since 2015 shows that compared to white applicants, African American applicants disproportionally failed the test, resulting in those applicants not advancing to the interview stage of the hiring process. DOJ alleges that the use of the test as a way to select applicants for the entry-level firefighter position was not "consistent with business necessity" or related to the job.

While the City denies violating Title VII, it welcomes the opportunity to work cooperatively with DOJ to resolve the allegations. The City has therefore agreed to:

• Stop using the challenged test and replace it with one that meets Title VII standards.
• Establish a fund of $980,000 that will be used to provide monetary awards to African American applicants who were disqualified by the City's use of the CEB.
• Provide 16 African Americans who were disqualified by the City's use of the CEB the opportunity for prioritized hiring by DFD and receive certain retroactive seniority benefits upon successful completion of DFD's new hiring process.

"I am pleased that the DOJ's comprehensive, four-year review confirmed no intentional discrimination in our hiring practices and that they are now working with us to develop a test that meets Title VII standards," said Fire Chief Robert J. Zoldos II. "The Durham Fire Department has and will always be dedicated to recruiting, hiring, and retaining well-qualified firefighters who reflect the rich diversity of Durham. Since 2020, we have been very focused on improving our hiring processes and have a strong focus on hiring people of color and women. We are eager to take any steps that will enhance those efforts and appreciate this opportunity to improve our applicant screening to identify a diverse pool of future public servants."

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina must approve the consent decree for it to become effective. As part of that process, the district court will conduct a fairness hearing before final approval of the decree's terms. An independent claims administrator is being retained by the City and will notify eligible individuals about the claims process.

More information about the settlement can be found on the DFD's webpage.