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Failure of legal process It started 13 years ago in the US state of Massachusetts, where promotional exams for firefighters were canceled and the recent police exams were declared invalid.
The case in question, Tatum et al v. A suit by several black or Hispanic police officers, filed in 2009 by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, claimed that the tests negatively impacted minority test takers, leading to lower scores and thus delayed or lost promotions through the Central. and a highly regimented process used by many police and fire departments.
Given the vagaries of the US legal system, the matter was not settled until last month (October) when Judge Douglas Wilkins issued a landmark finding against the state Human Resources Division (HRD).
“The evidence is very clear,” Judge Wilkins said.
“This defeats any justification of HRD relying on biased tests to find the best candidates for promotion,” he said.
“Furthermore, HRD was aware of clearly superior appraisal practices but continued to use the same, unnecessarily discriminatory format.”
The overwhelming evidence demonstrating the known and unjustified disparate impact of HRD’s format leaves “no doubt in this court’s mind that the Commonwealth interfered with plaintiffs’ rights to be promoted to police sergeant without racial or national bias. Origins.”
The exams, which are usually held once a year for Boston firefighters to become district chiefs, were scheduled to take place later this month (November) — and have already been delayed due to unrelated issues.
International Association of Fire Fighters Local 718 head Sam Dillon said his members had “the rug pulled out from under them.”
He said the postponement was part of the state’s move to remove firefighters from the state public service.
“The State Civil Service Commission needs to go ahead with these exams,” Mr. Dillon said.
“This is a case about cops – I don’t see the connection.”
Rich McKinnon, head of the Massachusetts Union of Professional Firefighters, said his organization has assigned a lawyer to file an emergency order to “investigate this matter — specifically why the police case should stop firefighter exams.”
Meanwhile, the 2009 court case continues with further hearings to determine liability and the second phase of the trial to see what the judge will order as a result of the new ruling.
That won’t happen until March 20 next year.
Boston, 12 November 2022
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