Settlement of Race Discrimination Lawsuit Against Cobb County Fire Department Reached

ATLANTA - A settlement has been reached with Cobb County, Georgia, through a consent decree, resolving the United States’ claims that Cobb County’s use of certain screening devices in its hiring process for entry-level firefighters resulted in a pattern or practice of discrimination against African Americans in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

Title VII is a federal statute that prohibits employment discrimination based on race, sex, color, national origin, and religion.  Title VII prohibits not only intentional discrimination but also employment practices that result in a disparate impact upon a protected group unless the defendant can prove that such practices are job-related and consistent with business necessity. 

“Every person, regardless of race, deserves an equal opportunity to compete for jobs.  Employers should identify and eliminate policies and procedures that create a discriminatory impact on applicants based on race,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan.  “Our office will continue to devote resources to eliminate prejudicial policies that illegally deprive qualified candidates of a fair chance to compete for employment opportunities.”

“This settlement should send a strong message to employers that reliance on a job applicant’s credit history may be discriminatory and unlawful,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Consumer credit checks create a Catch-22 for people seeking access to job opportunities. Cobb County’s hiring practices created artificial barriers that prevented qualified Black job candidates from being considered for firefighter positions. Discriminatory barriers, like credit checks, not only cost candidates a fair chance at a job, they also prevent the public from being served by firefighters drawn from the most robust hiring pool possible.”

The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of Georgia, alleges that the County engaged in discrimination with two parts of its entry-level firefighter hiring process.  The United States’ lawsuit challenges the County’s use of a credit check to screen out firefighter candidates based on the County’s review of their credit histories.  The lawsuit also challenges the County’s past use of a written examination designed to determine placement level in college classes as a method for ranking candidates to move forward in the firefighter hiring process.  The County’s use of these employment practices disproportionately removed qualified African Americans from consideration for a firefighter position.  The complaint further alleges that the credit check and the use of the written exam to rank applicants do not lawfully identify the best qualified candidates for the firefighter position.

Under the terms of the consent decree, which is subject to court approval, Cobb County will no longer use a credit check as part of its firefighter selection process, nor will it resume using the written exam as a rank-order selection device.  The County will pay $750,000 in back pay to eligible African Americans who were denied employment because of the challenged employment practices, and will make up to 16 priority hires, with retroactive seniority, from the group of applicants disqualified by the challenged practices. 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia brought this case in collaboration with the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Civil Rights Division’s Employment Litigation Section.  The case was brought by Aileen Bell Hughes, Deputy Chief of the Public Integrity and Civil Rights Section, and DOJ Employment Litigation Section attorneys Brian McEntire and Juliet Gray.

Ensuring that local, county, and state governments comply with Title VII is a top priority of the Justice Department’s Employment Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Georgia.  Additional information about the Civil Rights Division and the jurisdiction of the Employment Litigation Section is available on its websites at www.justice.gov/crt/ and https://www.justice.gov/crt/employment-litigation-section. 

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.