New details about the extent of alleged race discrimination in Cobb County’s hiring of firefighters are revealed in a lawsuit brought against the county by the federal government.
The complaint, filed Wednesday in the federal trial court in Atlanta, seeks changes in hiring practices and “remedial relief to all persons who have suffered individual loss as a result of the discrimination.”
Cobb County recently approved a settlement with the federal government in regard to the county’s firefighter application process, which until 2020 included credit checks and rankings based on a written examination. The U.S. Department of Justice questioned the need for those steps in hiring firefighters, alleging the county had “a pattern or practice of resistance to the full enjoyment by African Americans of the rights protected by (the Civil Rights Act).”
A county spokesperson said Thursday that the lawsuit is part of the settlement process, which includes seeking a federal judge’s approval. In early April, the county issued a news release about the agreement, reiterating that any discrimination was unintentional.
The lawsuit reveals that between 2016 and 2020, the county received 4,049 applications for firefighter positions, of which 48.8% were from Black applicants. In that timeframe, the county hired 225 white firefighters and 61 Black firefighters.
As of Oct. 6, 2021, just 13.1% of the county’s 352 firefighters were Black. Just over 78% were white. The most recently available U.S. Census data shows 61% of Cobb residents are white and 30% are Black.
The county pledged $750,000 to be divided among “eligible individuals” as part of the settlement. It also promised to hire up to 16 firefighters, with limited retroactive seniority benefits, from a pool of eligible individuals. The county denied violating federal law.
Credit checks were part of the county’s firefighter hiring process from 2016 to 2020, records show. In 2020, the county also started using a written exam developed by the Technical College System of Georgia to identify the appropriate course level for college students.
The federal government said the exam, comprising reading, writing and mathematics questions, was not created to screen candidates for firefighter positions. It said the exam “resulted in a disparate impact on African American candidates for (Cobb County) firefighter positions, is not job-related for the position in question, is not consistent with business necessity, and otherwise does not meet the requirements of (federal law).”
Applicants in 2020 were primarily ranked by the county based on their exam scores, with the top-ranked candidates invited to move forward in the hiring process, per the lawsuit.
“While the majority of individuals who took the exam in 2020 passed it, many candidates ranked too low on the eligibility list based on their scores to have a chance to be hired,” the complaint states. “African American candidates had lower average ranks on the 2020 eligibility list than white candidates.”
While 319 white applicants and 249 Black applicants passed the exam in 2020, none of the 21 candidates ultimately selected were Black, the federal government said.
In 2021, when the county stopped ranking applicants based on their exam scores and instead randomly selected candidates who passed both the written exam and a physical agility test to move forward, the number of Black applicants chosen was proportional to the number who had applied, the lawsuit states.
In regard to the county’s use of credit checks, the federal government said only applicants who passed the checks were hired. Black candidates had a lower pass rate than their white counterparts.
“Cobb County has not engaged in any study that establishes a connection between credit history and job performance or character,” the lawsuit states.
The federal government wants the county to adopt “appropriate nondiscriminatory measures” to correct its “discriminatory policies and practices” in compliance with federal law.
Cobb County’s fire chief Bill Johnson said in April that his department is committed to recruiting, hiring and retaining “well-qualified” firefighters. Lisa Cupid, who chairs the county’s board of commissioners, said the county aims to be inclusive in finding the best employees.
In a news release Thursday, the DOJ said the settlement should warn employers against relying on an applicant’s credit history.
“Cobb County’s hiring practices created artificial barriers that prevented qualified Black job candidates from being considered for firefighter positions,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said.
The Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination based on race, sex, color, national origin and religion. It also prohibits employment practices that result in a disparate impact upon a protected group, unless such practices are job related and consistent with business necessity.
Reporter Taylor Croft contributed to this article.
