New Haven, Ct. Firefighters Claim Reverse Discrimination

U.S. Supreme Court Hears New Haven Reverse Discrimination Case

Firefighter Frank Ricci listens to a reporter's question outside U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington on Wednesday. (WTNH / April 22, 2009)

WASHINGTON - Twenty white New Haven firefighters who claim the city denied them promotion for racial reasons urged the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday to fundamentally overhaul the way government is allowed to consider race when making personnel decisions.
All 20, wearing crisp blue dress uniforms, listened attentively from the packed court gallery, as the justices closely questioned lawyers who argued their 6-year old reverse discrimination case.
The case, Ricci V DeStefano, attracted an over flow crowd of observers, many of whom hope the case will provide guidance to public and private employers trying to balance the need to diversify the workforce with the prohibition against race-based hiring and promotion.
If the court rules for the firefighters, who have argued that "race-conscious" government decisions should be subject to strict review, the ruling could impact government choices on issues from sitting public schools, to allocating educational resources to minority outreach recruiting efforts.

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The firefighters, 19 white men and an Hispanic man who is also classified for racial purposes as white, sued New Haven in 2004 claiming they were racially victimized a year earlier when the city invalidated an examination that qualified them for promotion to lieutenant or captain.

The city said it threw out the test results because black fire department test takers did not score high enough to qualify for promotion. The city said at the time, and repeated the argument again Wednesday, that it was obligated to reject the test under federal law prohibiting tests that produce substantially disparate results between test takers of different races, Gregory S. Coleman, a Texas constitutional lawyer who argued the case for the firefighters, called the city's invalidation of the test "pernicious" and "regrettable racial politics." He old the court that "strong safeguards are needed to smoke out the improper use of race" in formulating municipal hiring and promotional policy.

Christopher J. Meade of New York, who argued the case for the city, told the court that governments should be allowed to act as New Haven did when confronted by the promotional examination's "adverse impact" against black promotional candidates. He said the decision to toss out the test results harmed no one - white or black - because the decision was made before any promotions were made. He argued, as the city has in the past, that firefighters would be harmed only if promotions were awarded and later rescinded.

"There was a severe adverse impact here," Meade told the court. "Employees should be able to act when confronted by severe disparate results and suggestions of improper testing."

Karen Lee Torre, the New Haven lawyer representing the firefighters, attended the hearing and replied angrily outside the courthouse to Meade's implication that the test was biased against black candidates. She said there is no evidence in the case's long record to show the test was flawed.
"The only thing wrong with the test is that it didn't suit the political agenda of the Mayor of New Haven," Torre said.

She was referring to allegations the lawsuit that Mayor John DeStefano invalidated the test to bolster political support from influential black, New Haven power brokers who were demanding more black representation in the fire department officer ranks.

Firefighter Frank Ricci, the lead plaintiff in the case, was the only firefighter who would speak with reporters after the arguments and he wouldn't discuss the merits of the case.

"The only thing that I'll say is that we're all happy to have our day in court," Ricci said. "If you work hard and you study and you apply yourself well at your job, you can succeed in America."

By EDMUND MAHONY | The Hartford Courant

Source:  Hartford Courant

• White, Hispanic Firefighters' Claim That City Favored Blacks

When firefighters battle a raging blaze, they can be sure that at least one thing will treat them all equally:

In Conn., white firefighters say promotions denied because of race.

"The fire isn't going to discriminate against a person whether he's black, white or Hispanic" Connecticut firefighter Ben Vargas, 40, said. "It's going to treat that person the same way."

But in the city of New Haven, Vargas, who is Hispanic, and 19 white firefighters say that is where the equal treatment ends, and discrimination begins. They allege that they were denied promotions because the city gave preferential treatment to blacks.

Matt Marcarelli, who is white, got the top score on a promotion exam in 2003 and was first in line for captain. But when the city reviewed all the test results, it found that the pass rate for black candidates was about half the corresponding rate for white candidates. None of the black firefighters scored well enough for an immediate promotion. As a result, the city threw out the test results.

By JAN CRAWFORD GREENBURG and ARIANE de VOGUE