Firefighters file lawsuit based on unfair testing

Serghino René

In response to the steady decline of minority firefighters hired by the city of Boston, the NAACP is taking a proactive role in reforming the civil service exam that is now under constitutional review in federal court.

In that case, four black men have sued the City of Lynn and the human resource division of the state for hiring candidates with an exam that critics have described as unconstitutional. Each of the four men were rejected for firefighting jobs in Lynn.

The NAACP has urged U.S. District Judge Patti B. Saris to give a court order to revise the list of candidates, giving the four men special reconsideration. All four men passed the civil service exam.

Members of the Lawyers Committee of Civil Rights Under Law and the Boston Society of Vulcans — an organization that represents black and Hispanic firefighters — have intervened in the lawsuit, arguing that the existing exam has a disparate impact on minorities. The state plans to offer a new civil service exam for firefighters in June.

In light of the lawsuit, all three organizations have asked Judge Saris to order an injunction for the reselection of firefighters in the Boston Fire Department.

Karen Miller, president of the Boston Society of Vulcans, said that if the injunction doesn’t go through, her organization would make plans to sue the city of Boston.

“I don’t see a reason why the injunction won’t go through,” says Miller during an interview. “It’s something that has to be done.”

Within the past three years, there have been 5 recruiting classes. Out of those 209 recruits, 2 have been Latino and 2 have been African American.

The 1974 Beecher Decree was implemented to prevent such discriminatory action and create racial balance within the BFD. It stated that for every white person hired, there had to be one minority. Miller said that the one-to-one ratio never became a reality and hiring initially began on a three-to-one ratio.

That decree, however, became moot three years ago when a federal appeals court found that the Boston Fire Department had reached racial balance. A reverse discrimination suit filed by four white men prompted the federal appellate case. They claimed minority candidates who scored lower on the exam were hired instead of them.

The NAACP, Vulcans and Lawyers Committee are collaborating to improve the present process, making it fairer for minorities and whites. They are scheduled to present their suggestions this week. Their revisions in the selection process include requiring the written exam as well as an oral interview and Physical Aptitude Test (PAT).

Miller says studies have shown that minorities perform at a higher success rate under those testing conditions.

A physical assessment was a mandatory part of the exam, but that was eliminated four years ago after three candidates nearly died as a result of dehydration in the summer heat.

Miller says that having an all white force in a minority majority city will only create barriers with trust, culture, language, safety, jobs and community programs.

Miller recounts an incident with a Vietnamese family where the grandfather and child died in the blaze.

“Help was delayed because there was a communication gap,” says Miller.

“It is crucial that fire and police departments be reflective of the community they serve,” says Miller. “People are going to relate more to someone who looks like them,” she explains.

Closing arguments for the lawsuit involving the firefighter entrance exam is scheduled to take place in the Moakely Court House on Friday, June 9 at 9 a.m.