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Dallas Black Firefighters Accuse City of Bias
TANYA EISERER
The Dallas Morning News
Aug. 8--The Dallas Black Fire Fighters Association has filed suit against the city of Dallas seeking to change what it says is pervasive discrimination against minorities and women in hiring, training, transfers, promotions and discipline.
"These people are being discriminated against," said Grover Hankins, a Houston attorney who specializes in employment discrimination cases. "There are some very hard-core discriminatory practices that are going on in that department."
The lawsuit, filed in state district court on July 19, seeks a permanent injunction prohibiting "unfair discriminatory employment policies" and demands more than $75,000 in damages for each person.
The city attorney and fire officials declined to comment on the lawsuit.
"We'll await the outcome of the legal action and abide by the judge's decision," said Lt. Joel Lavender, a Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman.
Issues surrounding race have long been contentious and litigious in Dallas Fire-Rescue.
The black firefighters association filed a class action in the late 1980s, alleging that blacks lagged in hiring and promotions.
The city settled the lawsuit for about $860,00 in the mid-1990s. The settlement mandated numerous changes, including revamping disciplinary procedures and added special requirements on how to conduct hiring and promotional tests.
About that time, white firefighters filed suit in federal court, contending that women and minorities who scored lower on civil service tests were promoted ahead of them. The issue revolved around a 1988 policy that allowed the department to "skip-promote" minorities and women who did as well on the tests as white men.
In the late 1990s, the U.S. Supreme Court found that portion of the city's affirmative action plan violated the constitutional rights of white male firefighters.
Shortly after the ruling, Chief Dodd Miller stepped down as pressure rose from minority leaders who demanded a chief who could find innovative ways to deal with the high court's decision.
Some firefighters say many of the issues remain a source of conflict.
"When young people do make it through the fire academy and get placed in an all-white firehouse, they are basically set up for failure," Mr. Hankins said. "They are sniped at until they're gone so they don't make it. It's just horrendous."
But fire officials and the head of the department's largest association say several examples and information in the black firefighters lawsuit are either inaccurate, wrong or misleading.
Mr. Hankins, a former general counsel for the NAACP and a lawyer in the U.S. Justice Department's civil rights division, said the facts in the lawsuit are based on what his clients told him. He added that if there are errors, he would amend it. But he added that there are other explosive allegations that he expects to add to the lawsuit.
For example, the lawsuit says Dallas Fire-Rescue has not hired an African-American female firefighter in about 15 years.
It's actually been about 11 years, Lt. Lavender said.
Five black women have been hired as firefighters in the last 15 years, three of whom remain with the department. There have also been 13 black women hired as fire prevention officers, fire officials said.
Lt. Lavender acknowledges that the department lags in hiring enough women but says it is extremely difficult to attract them into the fire service. Woman represent about 4 percent of the department's firefighting personnel.
The lawsuit accuses the fire department of engaging in "discriminatory hiring practices against qualified African-American candidates that make application for employment." Minor infractions are overlooked for whites, but not for blacks, it says.
Fire officials note that the department's two recruiters are black and Hispanic, and they say the last three captains over the personnel department have been black.
Shawn Gary, the black firefighter association's president, says just having people of color working in recruiting isn't enough.
"You've got to have policies that allow you to recruit these people," he said.
Currently, about 62 percent of the department's firefighters are white, 21 percent black and 14 percent Hispanic, virtually the same as when former Fire Chief Steve Abraira became the city's top firefighter in 2000.
The lawsuit also says Mr. Gary was a victim of discrimination because he was denied his request to transfer to arson investigations "without being given any reason."
Fire officials say Mr. Gary was not qualified for the transfer because typically only lieutenants and above are considered for such positions, although some firefighters are transferred into the unit when health problems prevent them from performing the usual firefighter duties.
"There are other people in arson investigations that are not lieutenants," Mr. Gary said.
Capt. Mike Buehler, president of the Dallas Fire Fighters Association, which represents more than 1,000 of Dallas Fire-Rescue's roughly 1,600 firefighters, said he believes there have been "isolated incidents" of discrimination.
He said the lawsuit seems like a rehash of complaints that arose during the tenure of Mr. Abraira, who resigned almost a year ago after being pressured to do so by City Manager Mary Suhm.
"I don't know how this would hurt Abraira at this point," he said. Mr. Abraira could not be reached for comment.
Eddie Burns, who came from Fort Worth, became Dallas' first black chief in April. But a new chief doesn't mitigate the problems, Mr. Gary said.
"We tried to mediate with the city," said Mr. Gary. "They chose not to respond, and this is just the next step.
"Are we supposed to ignore that?"
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LAWSUIT'S ALLEGATIONS
Here are examples of discrimination against black and female firefighters alleged in the lawsuit:
Discrimination in hiring: The lawsuit alleges that a Hispanic chief "exhibited unprofessional conduct and acted in a rude and hostile manner" toward a black man when he interviewed him for a job with the fire department. The man was not hired.
Discrimination in performance evaluations: The lawsuit alleges that a black firefighter was denied a promotion after "he failed an illegally given test on two occasions."
http://cms.firehouse.com/content/art...Id=46&id=50603
Discrimination in training: The lawsuit alleges that white employees of the fire department made calls to area departments "blackballing" a fire recruit who had filed a lawsuit accusing the department of discriminatory treatment.
Discrimination in wages: The lawsuit alleges that the firefighters at Station 49, who are mostly black, are not treated the same as their counterparts at Stations 21 and 42, who are mostly white, when it comes to overtime assignments. All personnel at the three stations have received Federal Aviation Administration training. Yet only the firefighters at Nos. 21 and 42 are allowed to work overtime at Station 21, at Dallas Love Field. Station 42 is next to the airport.
Copyright (c) 2006, The Dallas Morning News Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News. For reprints, email , call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
TANYA EISERER
The Dallas Morning News
Aug. 8--The Dallas Black Fire Fighters Association has filed suit against the city of Dallas seeking to change what it says is pervasive discrimination against minorities and women in hiring, training, transfers, promotions and discipline.
"These people are being discriminated against," said Grover Hankins, a Houston attorney who specializes in employment discrimination cases. "There are some very hard-core discriminatory practices that are going on in that department."
The lawsuit, filed in state district court on July 19, seeks a permanent injunction prohibiting "unfair discriminatory employment policies" and demands more than $75,000 in damages for each person.
The city attorney and fire officials declined to comment on the lawsuit.
"We'll await the outcome of the legal action and abide by the judge's decision," said Lt. Joel Lavender, a Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman.
Issues surrounding race have long been contentious and litigious in Dallas Fire-Rescue.
The black firefighters association filed a class action in the late 1980s, alleging that blacks lagged in hiring and promotions.
The city settled the lawsuit for about $860,00 in the mid-1990s. The settlement mandated numerous changes, including revamping disciplinary procedures and added special requirements on how to conduct hiring and promotional tests.
About that time, white firefighters filed suit in federal court, contending that women and minorities who scored lower on civil service tests were promoted ahead of them. The issue revolved around a 1988 policy that allowed the department to "skip-promote" minorities and women who did as well on the tests as white men.
In the late 1990s, the U.S. Supreme Court found that portion of the city's affirmative action plan violated the constitutional rights of white male firefighters.
Shortly after the ruling, Chief Dodd Miller stepped down as pressure rose from minority leaders who demanded a chief who could find innovative ways to deal with the high court's decision.
Some firefighters say many of the issues remain a source of conflict.
"When young people do make it through the fire academy and get placed in an all-white firehouse, they are basically set up for failure," Mr. Hankins said. "They are sniped at until they're gone so they don't make it. It's just horrendous."
But fire officials and the head of the department's largest association say several examples and information in the black firefighters lawsuit are either inaccurate, wrong or misleading.
Mr. Hankins, a former general counsel for the NAACP and a lawyer in the U.S. Justice Department's civil rights division, said the facts in the lawsuit are based on what his clients told him. He added that if there are errors, he would amend it. But he added that there are other explosive allegations that he expects to add to the lawsuit.
For example, the lawsuit says Dallas Fire-Rescue has not hired an African-American female firefighter in about 15 years.
It's actually been about 11 years, Lt. Lavender said.
Five black women have been hired as firefighters in the last 15 years, three of whom remain with the department. There have also been 13 black women hired as fire prevention officers, fire officials said.
Lt. Lavender acknowledges that the department lags in hiring enough women but says it is extremely difficult to attract them into the fire service. Woman represent about 4 percent of the department's firefighting personnel.
The lawsuit accuses the fire department of engaging in "discriminatory hiring practices against qualified African-American candidates that make application for employment." Minor infractions are overlooked for whites, but not for blacks, it says.
Fire officials note that the department's two recruiters are black and Hispanic, and they say the last three captains over the personnel department have been black.
Shawn Gary, the black firefighter association's president, says just having people of color working in recruiting isn't enough.
"You've got to have policies that allow you to recruit these people," he said.
Currently, about 62 percent of the department's firefighters are white, 21 percent black and 14 percent Hispanic, virtually the same as when former Fire Chief Steve Abraira became the city's top firefighter in 2000.
The lawsuit also says Mr. Gary was a victim of discrimination because he was denied his request to transfer to arson investigations "without being given any reason."
Fire officials say Mr. Gary was not qualified for the transfer because typically only lieutenants and above are considered for such positions, although some firefighters are transferred into the unit when health problems prevent them from performing the usual firefighter duties.
"There are other people in arson investigations that are not lieutenants," Mr. Gary said.
Capt. Mike Buehler, president of the Dallas Fire Fighters Association, which represents more than 1,000 of Dallas Fire-Rescue's roughly 1,600 firefighters, said he believes there have been "isolated incidents" of discrimination.
He said the lawsuit seems like a rehash of complaints that arose during the tenure of Mr. Abraira, who resigned almost a year ago after being pressured to do so by City Manager Mary Suhm.
"I don't know how this would hurt Abraira at this point," he said. Mr. Abraira could not be reached for comment.
Eddie Burns, who came from Fort Worth, became Dallas' first black chief in April. But a new chief doesn't mitigate the problems, Mr. Gary said.
"We tried to mediate with the city," said Mr. Gary. "They chose not to respond, and this is just the next step.
"Are we supposed to ignore that?"
LAWSUIT'S ALLEGATIONS
Here are examples of discrimination against black and female firefighters alleged in the lawsuit:
Discrimination in hiring: The lawsuit alleges that a Hispanic chief "exhibited unprofessional conduct and acted in a rude and hostile manner" toward a black man when he interviewed him for a job with the fire department. The man was not hired.
Discrimination in performance evaluations: The lawsuit alleges that a black firefighter was denied a promotion after "he failed an illegally given test on two occasions."
http://cms.firehouse.com/content/art...Id=46&id=50603
Discrimination in training: The lawsuit alleges that white employees of the fire department made calls to area departments "blackballing" a fire recruit who had filed a lawsuit accusing the department of discriminatory treatment.
Discrimination in wages: The lawsuit alleges that the firefighters at Station 49, who are mostly black, are not treated the same as their counterparts at Stations 21 and 42, who are mostly white, when it comes to overtime assignments. All personnel at the three stations have received Federal Aviation Administration training. Yet only the firefighters at Nos. 21 and 42 are allowed to work overtime at Station 21, at Dallas Love Field. Station 42 is next to the airport.
Copyright (c) 2006, The Dallas Morning News Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News. For reprints, email , call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
RAY WAS HERE 08/28/05
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