$1.8 Billion Legal Payout in New York Discrimination Case Sets New Record
The largest legal payout in city history goes to minority teachers who suffered racial bias in a certification exam for 5,200 current and aspiring minority teachers
New York City finds itself in the midst of a historic financial repercussion as it prepares to pay out a staggering $1.8 billion to approximately 5,200 current and aspiring minority teachers who were subject to racial bias. The issue at hand revolves around a certification exam that was deemed racially discriminatory, thus prompting the historic settlement.
This settlement is part of a near thirty-year-old federal lawsuit that was resolved some years back, determining the certification exam to be biased against Black and Hispanic individuals aiming for or already involved in public school education, as the New York Post reported.
As of last week, 225 people who failed the Liberal Arts and Sciences Test, used for teacher licensing between 1994 to 2014, have been notified that they will receive settlements of at least $1 million each, according to an analysis of Manhattan federal court records conducted by the Post. These individuals had previously either been rejected for public school teaching jobs or demoted to the role of substitute teachers.
The court rulings found the test to be in violation of the law, as it disproportionately allowed more white candidates to pass. The Post reported that over 90% of white test takers achieved a passing score, whereas the passing rates for Black and Latino applicants ranged from 51 to 62 percent and 47 to 55 percent, respectively.
This historic legal payout, the largest in New York City's history, also opens the doors for some individuals who did not secure teaching jobs to be awarded over $1 million each along with potential pensions. The awards were calculated based on what these individuals could have earned had they passed the test or not been required to take it for employment.
Legal experts are predicting that this settlement will likely trigger a surge in "hundreds of other future million-dollar awards."
One of the largest individual awards reported to date, $2,055,383, was awarded to Herman Grim of Queens on July 5. This figure includes $1,583,114 in back pay for time never clocked, accrued lost interest, and other compensation.
The original lawsuit, named Gulino v. Board of Education, was filed by four teachers in 1996 against the New York City Department of Education and the New York State Education Department. They alleged that the qualification test violated Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. This federal law legally prohibits employment discrimination based on race, among other protected characteristics.
According to the Post, the plaintiff's lawyers introduced experts who testified that much of the score discrepancy could be attributed to some of the questions being culturally biased in favor of whites. The third federal judge in this case ruled the test discriminatory in 2012.
Despite this resolution taking a number of years, the court is now finally issuing its historic payouts, marking a significant chapter in the fight against racial bias and discrimination.
