Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Jacksonville Agrees To Settle Firefighter Racial Discrimination Lawsuit

Firetruck
amateur photography by michel
/
Flickr

 

The city of Jacksonville is close to settling a 2013 discrimination lawsuit alleging the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department discriminates against African-Americans in hiring and creates a hostile work environment.

The city will settle with a $250,000 payment and change its hiring practices, as long as City Council agrees.

The NAACP and Jacksonville Brotherhood of Firefighters filed the civil rights suit.

Under the settlement, a more diverse group of firefighters will be hired over the next five years. The goal is to better reflect Jacksonville’s demographics.

JFRD will also take note of economic hurdles applicants are facing and cover firefighter certification costs for some of them.

A bill approving the settlement will be introduced into Council Tuesday.

Photo used under Creative Commons license.

Lindsey Kilbride was WJCT's special projects producer until Aug. 28, 2020. She reported, hosted and produced podcasts like Odd Ball, for which she was honored with a statewide award from the Associated Press, as well as What It's Like. She also produced VOIDCAST, hosted by Void magazine's Matt Shaw, and the ADAPT podcast, hosted by WJCT's Brendan Rivers.