TOWSON, Md. (AP) - Maryland’s Baltimore County has reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice in a lawsuit that accused the county’s police force of discriminatory hiring practices against Black applicants.
Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski announced the deal Wednesday, saying in a statement that the agreement “will help hold Baltimore County accountable” as it works to increase diversity in the Baltimore County Police Department.
The lawsuit, filed in August 2019, claimed the county’s use of the pass/fail written exams led to hiring fewer black applicants as entry-level police officers and police cadets than it would have had if it used a “non-discriminatory screening device.”
The Justice department also alleged Black applicants passed three versions of the exam at a “statistically significant” lower rate than white applicants, and said the use of the exams as a screening device was not “job related.”
Under the settlement, the county has to provide $2 million in back pay to eligible claimants and make 20 priority hires for Black applicants who previously took and failed the written exams, according to the news release.
The county, which discontinued using the written exam in 2019, has also agreed to retain a test developer to create a new exam that “does not have a disparate impact” on Black applicants, the release said. In the meantime, both parties have agreed to use the National Police Officer Selection Test.
Olszewski said he, along with Baltimore County Police Chief Melissa Hyatt, had already began efforts to diversify the police force prior to the lawsuit. The release said the United States acknowledged the exams were established prior Olszewski’s administration as part of the agreement, and that his administration is committed to resolving complaints about the hiring practices.
“Ensuring residents see themselves reflected in our ranks is a critical step towards strengthening our relationship with the communities that we are sworn to serve,” Hyatt said in the news release. “While maintaining our exceptional hiring standards, we are taking committed action to diversify our department, and we will continue building on these efforts in the months and years ahead to improve our capacity for diverse recruitment to make a strong department even stronger.”
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