Judge order $128 Million payment for Discrimination in NYC Firefighter Test

Judge Nicholas Garufis ordered New York City to pay $128 million in compensation to New York City firefighter applicants who were denied position based on a discriminatory test that the city had the power to fix. The Judge also order the FDNY to hire approximately 300 Black and Latino test takers.

The lawsuit, by the Federal Government and the Black Firefighters association (the Vulcans), charged that the test had little to do with actual firefighting and instead focus on memorization, test taking and reading. White candidates with an extensive network of existing and former firefighter "coaches" consistently passed while black candidates failed.

The New York City has a black population of about 26% while the FDNY is only 3% black.