The suit, filed in federal court in Newark, accuses New Jersey
of civil rights violations for using a written exam in which
black and Latinos candidates scored significantly and
consistently lower than their white counterparts.
Even when minority candidates passed the test, they were not
promoted as often as white candidates because their scores were
lower and promotions were granted first to those with the
highest scores and most seniority, according to the lawsuit,
which did not take issues with using seniority as a factor for
promotions.
The lawsuit seeks to stop the state from continuing to use the
exam and asks the court to order New Jersey to offer relief to
officers ``harmed'' by the exam by extending them promotions,
back pay and retroactive seniority.
``This complaint should send a clear message to all public
employers that employment practices with unlawful discriminatory
impact on account of race or national origin will not be
tolerated,'' said Thomas Pérez, Assistant Attorney
General for the Civil Rights Division. ``The Justice Department
will take all necessary action to ensure that such
discriminatory practices are eliminated and that the victims of
such practices are made whole.''
Test scores from 2000 to 2008 that were reviewed by the DOJ
showed that 89 percent of the white candidates who took the exam
passed it, compared to 77 percent of Latinos and 73 percent of
black candidates.
With the exception of the state police, most law enforcement
agencies across the state use the exam.
The Civil Service Commission, which sets the guidelines for
promotion protocol for most departments, was also listed in the
lawsuit.
The Attorney General’s Office, which represents the state in
lawsuits, declined to comment on the lawsuit.
In a similar case, a federal judge in July sided with the DOJ in
ruling that New York City had discriminated against minorities
in its hiring of firefighters, causing blacks and Latinos to
comprise only 10 percent of the fire department’s work force,
even though most city residents are minorities.
In that case, black and Latino applicants had also
disproportionately failed written examinations and those who
passed were placed disproportionately lower down the hiring
lists than whites.
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