Posted on 07/16/2012 7:30:42 PM PDT by Altura Ct.
A federal judge is ordering the New York City Fire Department to implement racial quotas to address grievances from minorities who failed entrance exams.
On July 5 in Brooklyn, Nicholas G. Garaufis, a Clinton-appointed judge for the Eastern District of New York, issued a ruling that requires two of every five newly hired fireman to be black and one of every five, Hispanic -- until the department has fulfilled the court-ordered quota of 186 black and 107 Hispanic hires.
The ruling allows back pay -- totaling an estimated $128.7 million -- for minorities who failed written tests.
The court order is a response to a lawsuit alleging that two placement exams (Written Exams 7029 or 2043) for the FDNY were discriminatory against blacks and Hispanics, because fewer minorities passed the exam than whites. (See copies of the exams here.)
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division is responsible for prosecuting cases under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The DOJ claims the written exams had an “unlawful disparate impact,” causing fewer minorities to be hired.
“Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits not only intentional discrimination, but also employment practices that appear to be fair in form but are discriminatory in operation,” the Department states in a fact sheet on the FDNY case. “A facially neutral employment practice, such as a written examination, that disproportionately excludes individuals from employment opportunities on the basis of their membership in a protected group, such as a particular race or national origin, and cannot be shown to be related to job performance, violates Title VII.”
Judge Garanufis ruled that any black or Hispanic individual who failed either written exam with a score of 25 out of 100 or higher is eligible to receive place on the priority hiring list as well as damages, including “non-economic damages.”
Non-economic damages are intended to compensate for the “lost intangible benefits of being a firefighter.” The intangible benefits include “prestige, job satisfaction, camaraderie, unique excitement, enjoyment of flexible scheduling, unusual employment stability, feeling of security derived from retiring with a full pension and lifetime medical benefits, and the potential for career advancement.”
All new hires must pass an updated test—Exam 2000—as long as it is found to comply with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the ruling states.
Further, Judge Garanufis ruled that minorities who were not hired because they failed the entrance exams must be paid a “retroactively higher salary” and receive “retroactive seniority” once they are hired through the new quota system. Retroactive seniority affects accrual of vacation and sick leave, among other benefits.
The Bush Justice Department filed suit against the FDNY in May 2007, challenging the exams that were first administered in 1999 and 2002. In July 2009, Judge Garaufis ruled that New York City had violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and then in 2010 he found the city liable for “intentional discrimination against black applicants,” according to the DOJ.
In a previous ruling, Judge Garaufis accused the FDNY of being a “bastion of white male privilege.”
"While the City's other uniformed services and fire departments across the country have changed to reflect the communities they serve, employment as a New York City firefighter -- arguably 'the best job in the world' -- has remained a stubborn bastion of white male privilege," Garaufis wrote in October 2011.
So does this mean the ones from the 1999 test will be receiving back pay for 9/11? What a freakin insult!
Amen Brother! Nothing in that test is discriminatory, nothing. Unless being stupid, unable to remember simple instructions ( oh wait, can’t discriminate against stupid maybe) or they cannot read. I went through Navy firefighting school in the 70’s and still feel confident I could be part of a fire team (even being disabled I would perform to 100% of my physical ability). I know 10 year old kids who could pass that test (I’m betting better than a 90% score). In fact I am printing the test out to test that theory). The judge who ruled on this needs to be checked into a mental health facility.
(Racially biased question, because if the answer isn't white, you only need to receive a 25 on the test to be hired)
Not exactly a test question, but probably on the test!
Apparently, morons are a protected minority. Who knew?
Reading the lsm over the last 15 years or so has convinced me that only white males possess any intelligence and initiative. My parents taught me wrong, perhaps I can sue.
Yeah, but the plan is to take the issue to SCOTUS once again and get John Roberts or Scalia to stab America in the back.
“...only white males possess any intelligence and initiative...”
I was told that only the Old Scottish truly cared about individual freedom, and that every other race would accept tyranny.
The Scottish Enlightenment was well known to our American Forefathers.
I don’t have much Scottish blood, but what I have always seem to be at a full boil.
One Joe Biden is more than enough.
LMAO!!
I wonder how many outraged FDNY firemen consistently vote Democrat?
And will continue to do so?
I just can’t bring myself to care about what happens in the big concentrated Democrat parasite nests (”cities”) anymore.
Why have tests at all? If they must be dumbed down so that anyone can pass them, they are of no use. By the way, what were Obama’s SAT scores? His LSAT scores? We had to know Bush 43”s SATs, why can’t we know Obama’s?
Exactly.....
So, I want the Baseball, Basketball, Football and any other sport that the white man can’t do as well at to get a fair shot since they are the minority in this field. They should not have to jump as high or throw as far, but they should place just as many of them on the team as they have black and hispanics.
It’s only fair! It’s your civil duty! Hog friggen wash.....
If you are not qualified for the job then you are not friggen qualified. You don’t put a man with no arms in a kitchen as a dishwasher. He would not be productive! This world is insane.
The feds should mind their own business even thou I think NYC of all places probably deserved the same federal bullying, they so consistently vote to impose upon others.
As someone else put it - meritocracy becomes mediocrity. Beyond the general outrage of this judicial edict, what this means is that the smaller portion of black firefighters that actually passed the test, let alone a few that probably aced it, can rationally he presumed by the public upon sight as only being in their position because of their color. Then the new applicants that score high on the test will be presumed to be no better than their brethern that failed the test.
This isn’t surprising at all. The federalized first responder union that they have been trying to push for 3.5 years was intended to accomplish the same thing, no test based promotions. It was actually intended to do more than just that.
The idea was to take away local control of all first responder jobs, often forcing rural areas and small towns to contract with cities for their services and pay dearly for the privilege, subsidizing the cost of the urban police, fire districts and paramedics, gold plated benefits.
On top of all that, the Obama administration wants to make 11th and 12th grades optional, putting the disinterested students and gang bangers directly into union apprenticeships (without any testing). Then, making promotions seniority based only, would place the former gang bangers ahead of the students who graduate from h.s. or even go onto take a two year course in criminology or emergency medicine. Of course, these young apprentices from the urban ghettos could be sent to any rural police dept if they get the single federalized union through.
Health care is another field that is ripe for the union apprenticeships.
“If it does, remember the guy coming to try to rescue you made 25 on the exam. Feel better?”
That’s not even high enough to know which end of the hose the water comes out of.
“Further, Judge Garanufis ruled that minorities who were not hired because they failed the entrance exams must be paid a “retroactively higher salary” and receive “retroactive seniority” once they are hired through the new quota system. Retroactive seniority affects accrual of vacation and sick leave, among other benefits.”
Looks like they got the promotions covered in the last line.
Economic war on white men; no wonder they stopped marrying & breeding.
“The idea was to take away local control of all first responder jobs, often forcing rural areas and small towns to contract with cities for their services and pay dearly for the privilege, subsidizing the cost of the urban police, fire districts and paramedics, gold plated benefits.”
They have to do something for funding, because all of the hardworking white people fled (and the hardworking non-white people fled with them); there is nobody to pay these affirmative action tokens, and an increasing share of the tax revenues that ARE available are being spent on the white retirees of twenty years ago.
The whole name of the game now is how to get whitey to pay for jobs they can’t have. A related game is how to get white guys to spawn children they can’t afford.
Health care is another field that is ripe for the union apprenticeships.
Is there a way to organize? Kind of like an anti-union union?
That isn’t by chance an urban myth is it? Seems making something ‘narrow’ would leave out men - not women.
This is what our ancesters fought a Civil War for.
Nothing like giving a man with no experience who couldn’t pass the entrance exam a hand up on the promotion exam.This is affirmative in high gear.
Not only hire the idiots,give them extra pay, and benefits that they are not entitled to.Then expect the older more experienced men to respect them.
Men always respect those hired because they are the right color /s/
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