On July 17th, 2007, the United States Department of Justice ("DOJ") filed an employment discrimination lawsuit under Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri against the Robertson Fire Protection District (RFPD). The DOJ sought injunctive and remedial relief, alleging that the defendant violated Title VII by discriminating against two African-American employees on the basis of race.

Specifically, the complaint stated that the discrimination took the form of demoting the two employees from the position of fire inspector to firefighter. Furthermore, the complaint alleges that the employees were retaliated against for filing charges of discrimination with the EEOC.

The case was referred to alternative dispute resolution on February 1, 2008. The parties reached a settlement and the Court (Judge Catherine D. Perry) entered a consent decree on May 23, 2008. Under the agreement, RFPD did not make admissions. The decree contained two general injunctions: 1) prohibition of discrimination on the basis of race; 2) prohibition of retaliation. The RFPD agreed to the following: 1) amend its written policies to prohibit discrimination, with description of complaints procedures, written or verbal;and identification of persons responsible for handling race discrimination complaints; 4) prompt and objective investigation of complaints, with results no later than 30 days after filing of a complaint; 5) designation of a person responsible for implementation of the policies; 6) distribution and publication of new policies; 7) mandatory nondiscrimination training. The two individuals both were to receive monetary awards (amounts unknown) and neutral references. The RFPD agreed to retain records pertinent to implementation of the decree. The United States retained a right to monitor compliance. The Court retained jurisdiction over the matter for the duration of the decree. The decree would dissolve after two years from its entry without further order of the court.

Jennifer Hau - 11/26/2007
Zhandos Kuderin - 07/17/2014


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