A.G. Gancarski
A lawsuit filed in 2013 by the NAACP and others in reaction to racial discrimination in the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department appears headed toward settlement.
The lawsuit contends there was discrimination in hiring, in promotion, and in workplace environment by the fire department. It also alleged nooses were placed in the lockers of two African-American firefighters during the past decade.
If the Jacksonville City Councils approves City Ordinance 2016-213 City Ordinance 2016-213, scheduled to be introduced at its March 22 meeting, the city will settle the lawsuit for $250,000. The money would go to the Jacksonville branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the Jacksonville Brotherhood of African American Firefighters.
In addition to the financial settlement, other conditions are outlined in the 31-page agreement.
A strict adherence to the city’s 1999 Hiring Policy, including the elimination of a credit history check, will be imposed, and monitored via annual presentations to the City Council’s Rules Committee.
A third of firefighters hired during the next five years will be selected from a list of noncertified applicants. That will eliminate a practice of functional discrimination rooted in test scores as the department moves toward the goal of being demographically “reflective of our community.”
Twice-yearly meetings between the head of the Jacksonville Brotherhood of Firefighters and the director of the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department will be required through the 2020-21 fiscal year to monitor “progress and performance” in accordance with the agreement.
Along those lines, complaints going forward from the JBOF or the NAACP will be filed in writing, and the JFRD will get 30 days to respond to the substance of those claims.
