NEW YORK DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION AGREE TO PAY $20 MILLION DOLLARS TO SETTLE DISCRIMINATION SUIT
According to the New York Times, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg told reporters at a news conference on Wednesday in China Town that he believed it would be better for the City to settle than to litigate a 2001 New York race discrimination lawsuit filed against the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation. The class action lawsuit grew out of a flood of complaints to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1999. Under the $20 million dollar class action settlement, the city did not have to admit wrongdoing and Mayor Bloomberg is happy to put the whole issue behind himself and City, even though the settlement must first be approved by a federal judge.
This original class action race discrimination lawsuit was brought on behalf of 11 Black and Hispanic employees, when those employees alleged that their white counterparts were paid more than them, and that if they complained they were retaliated against by being reassigned to offices a great distance from their homes or assigned to undesirable areas of buildings- like dusty basements. A second, Civil Rights lawsuit filed by the Justice Department in 2002, settled in 2005, called for sweeping changes in the promotions procedures in the parks department.
Approximately 3,500 present and former employees are involved in the class action suit and settlement. As a part of the $20 million dollar settlement, the city has agreed to pay compensatory damages and back pay to the class. Further, the City has agreed to new pay scales and oversight as to future promotion practices and procedures. According to the Times story, statistical evidence presented to the court indicated that in 2000 almost 93% of employees earning less than $20,000 per year were Black or Hispanic. Additionally, in the category of employees earning $50,000-$60,000 per year only 14% were found to be Black or Hispanic.
As an employee you deserve to be treated fairly. That means you should have an equal opportunity to succeed in the workplace, and to have equal pay for equal work. Further, retaliation by superiors if complaints are lodged based on racial discrimination is entirely unacceptable. If you believe you have been treated in a discriminatory manner within the workplace, please call our experienced NY discrimination attorneys at Wingate, Russotti & Shapiro, L.L.P., would like to meet with you. Please call our office at 212-986-7353 to set up an appointment to discuss your case.
