Cobb County faces DOJ discrimination settlement
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Cobb County commissioners will consider a federal settlement on Tuesday over racial discrimination allegations in its fire department.
Why it matters: The Department of Justice claims the county's fire department disparately impacted Black applicants with credit checks and a standardized test that were not sufficiently job-related.
By the numbers: The consent decree would force Cobb to pay and split $750,000 among the affected applicants, and hire 16 of them as firefighters with limited retroactive seniority benefits.
State of play: Cobb County spokesman Ross Cavitt told Axios the credit checks occurred from 2016 to 2020, and the tests happened in 2020.
- Cavitt said they have "no indication" the DOJ is investigating anything else in Cobb.
What they're saying: Cobb Fire Chief Bill Johnson said in a statement that the DOJ didn't find any issues with their current process.
- The DOJ didn't find evidence of intentional discrimination, and the county ended these practices in 2020, according to a county news release.
What's next: If the county approves the settlement, a federal district court must approve it.
- The court will hold two fairness hearings before final approval of the decree's terms.
- An independent claims administrator will notify eligible individuals about the claims process. Potential hires must meet minimum qualifications and current requirements.
Flashback: 11Alive reported in 2019 that Cobb's police and fire departments still didn't racially reflect its community 30 years after a federal investigation exposed hiring practice issues in those departments.
The bottom line: Commission Chair Lisa Cupid said in a statement that she's going to end any discriminatory practices because Cobb wants to inclusively find the county's best candidates.