Oct. 2 (UPI) — The U.S. Justice Department has taken steps to resolve allegations of racial and gender-based discriminatory hiring practices in Maryland’s state police, according to a Wednesday announcement from the department.
DOJ officials announced that the federal government has reached an agreement with Maryland’s Department of State Police to settle claims that MDSP’s hiring process for state troopers was discriminatory in nature and in violation of the Civil Rights Act.
Equal opportunities for employment in law enforcement “are not just a core civil right, but essential to ensuring that those who serve reflect the rich racial and gender diversity of the communities they are sworn to protect,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said Wednesday in a DOJ news release.
The investigation alleged that Maryland’s hiring process to join the state police, which included a written test and a physical fitness portion, discriminated against both women and Black candidates who sought employment.
According to the Justice Department, if approved by a judge as required, the agreement to settle the allegations will then resolve a “civil pattern and practice” investigation which was opened July 2022 by DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.
An in-depth review of MDSP’s hiring practices, the composition of its sworn personnel, applicant data, and information received from the Maryland State Police were all examined as part of the investigation. It concluded the state’s written and physical fitness tests “do not meaningfully distinguish between applicants who can and cannot perform the position of Trooper.”
“These tests also had the effect of disqualifying Black and female applicants from the hiring process at significantly disproportionate rates,” accordion to the department, which ruled the “tests” violate Title VII.
DOJ contends that MDSP’s use of those particular “tests” are “not job related or consistent with business necessity, and thus, violate Title VII,” which is a federal statute that forbids intentional employment discrimination based on race, sex, color, national origin and religion.
It also addresses discriminatory employment practices that may result in a “disparate impact on a protected group, unless such practices are job related and consistent with business necessity.”
Clarke says the underrepresentation of Blacks, women or other minority groups in law enforcement “undermines public safety and runs contrary to the principle of equal opportunity which is central in our job market.”
If approved by a judge, the agreement will require the Maryland Department of State Police to institute “meaningful reforms,” which the federal government said means to “remove unlawful barriers in its hiring process, and provide restitution and relief to those already harmed, ensuring that all qualified applicants have a fair chance to serve,” according to Clarke.
Under the terms of the agreement, Maryland will be obligated to adopt a new written and physical fitness test that “does not discriminate in violation of Title VII,” and to pay $2.75M in back pay to applicants who had been disqualified by MDSP’s previous use of the challenged tests.
Further, Maryland will be compelled to provide data to the federal government on the administration of the new tests to ensure compliance, and is mandated to hire up to 25 applicants who had been “unfairly disqualified by those tests and who successfully complete MDSP’s new trooper screening and selection process,” according to the agreement.
Filed Wednesday in the District of Maryland, the complaint alleges MDSP’s use of a written test, the so-called “Police Officer Selection Test,” had disproportionately excluded Black candidates. And it was alleged how the state’s use of a physical fitness test descried as the “Functional Fitness Assessment Test” was known to “disproportionately exclude” women candidates from Maryland state police employment.
The announcement of Wednesday’s settlement was a “reflection of our continued mission to protect the civil rights of all Marylanders, including those of our sworn law enforcement officers,” U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the Maryland District said in a statement.
“Law enforcement agencies have a responsibility to protect all citizens equally. We are pleased that MDSP is committed to ensuring that its hiring processes will not discriminate on the basis of race or gender,” said Barron.
