December 22, 2024
The lawsuit revolved around the disparity in pay for inspectors, whose workforce is 70% black or people of color.
On Dec. 16, U.S. District Judge Annalisa Torres in Manhattan upheld a preliminary $29.2 million judgment in a racial discrimination lawsuit filed by New York City Fire Protection Inspectors and their union in 2020 against the City of New York.
According to a press release from the union, Local 2507, the trial spun around pay disparity for inspectors whose workforce is 70% black or people of color.
That demographic of inspectors, according to the union, makes roughly $9,000 less than inspectors at the majority-white Building Department.
According to Local 2507 President Oren Barzilla, the ruling is the culmination of a decades-long fight for fair pay.
“Our members have been fighting the inequity and mistreatment they receive in the FDNY for decades,” said Barzilla, president of Local 2507, which represents fire protection inspectors and EMS workers for this settlement is a step in the right direction to correct that disparity. in our efforts to correct the disparity until the city corrects the underlying discriminatory payment practices that have created this problem for all of our members.”
Under the agreement, each affected superintendent will receive an average of $35,000, but those in a smaller salary adjustment class will be paid an average of $5,000.
The inspectors have until Valentine’s Day to object to the settlement or drop the class-action lawsuit.
A final approval hearing is set for March 17, and if that hearing is successful, both groups would receive their payments in the fall of 2025.
According to a New York City Law Department spokesperson, “The City is pleased with the court’s preliminary approval of this settlement. Fire inspectors play an important role in keeping residents and businesses safe, and while wrongdoing is not tolerated through this settlement, the City strongly opposes all forms of discrimination.” , including unintentional bias, as stated herein.”
According to Barzilla, the city’s EMS workers also face a similar pay disparity, but they don’t receive the same pay rates as firefighters, police and sanitation workers.
“These same pay practices continue within our EMS ranks,” Barzilai said. other first responders.”
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