New York Settles $29.2M Lawsuit Amid Racial Discrimination

A federal judge granted a preliminary approval to a $29.2 million settlement in a class action lawsuit filed by FDNY fire protection inspectors against the city of New York in 2020.

The inspectors, who are mostly people of color, allegedly faced racial discrimination, saying that they earned an average of $9,000 less annually than Department of Buildings (DOB) inspectors which are majority white.

In 2022, Manhattan US District Judge Analisa Torres certified the inspectors’ class action complaint, saying that the duties of fire protection inspectors are more demanding than those of DOB inspectors.

In August 2023, the city and the inspectors reached an initial settlement that created two separate classes: the “damages class,” consisting of fire protection inspectors employed by the FDNY, and the “pay adjustment class,” made up of a smaller group of those employed after that period.

$35,000 Payout

Under the terms of the agreement, members of the damages class will receive an average payout of $35,000, while those in the pay adjustment class will receive an average of $5,000.

The settlement also included the creation of a labor management committee to address issues of mistreatment faced by fire protection inspectors.

Members of both classes will be notified about the settlement’s preliminary approval later this month and have until February 14, 2024, to object to or opt out of the settlement. A final approval hearing is scheduled for March 17, 2024.

EMS Workers Next in Line

Oren Barzilay, who represents the plaintiffs, also highlighted that the issue of pay discrimination is not limited to fire protection inspectors. The union leader pointed out that a similar pay disparity exists for FDNY EMS workers, who also face racial and gender-based discrimination in pay.

EMS workers also allegedly faced a pay discrimination after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found evidence of bias against FDNY EMS personnel. 

Judge Torres denied the city’s motion to dismiss the case in March 2023, noting that the city’s pay practices for EMS workers—paying them a lower, civilian wage instead of a higher, uniformed pay scale—suggested potential discrimination.

In September 2023, Torres certified the EMS workers’ class action lawsuit, agreeing that the city’s wage practices raised significant concerns about systemic discrimination.