As reported by nj.com, New Jersey must create a new process for selecting sergeants in municipal and county police departments after reaching a settlement to revise a system the U.S. Department of Justice said discriminates against black and Hispanic applicants, federal officials announced Monday.

If the settlement is approved by a federal judge, the state will also be required to pay $1 million in back pay to black and Hispanic officers the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division says were harmed by the promotion process. Those officers may also be given priority for the next openings for sergeants.

“Police officers, whose daily responsibilities include protecting the public and ensuring the safety of others, have the right to be free from discrimination on the basis of race or national origin on the job,” said Thomas Perez, the assistant attorney general in charge of the Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice will challenge discrimination in employment on the basis of race or national origin, whether that discrimination is intentional or the result of promotional practices that have discriminatory impact.”

A spokesman for the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, Peter Aseltine, pointed out that the state did not admit any liability in reaching a settlement. “We believe that a settlement was prudent to avoid costly litigation,” he said. 

The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit in January 2010 in U.S. District Court in Newark saying the written civil service test required for police officers to advance to sergeant was discriminatory. Federal officials argued the exam was not useful in finding the best candidates for the job and resulted in disqualifications for a disproportionate number of black and Hispanic applicants. When the lawsuit was filed last year, a Department of Justice spokesman said at least 120 municipal and county police departments in the state have used the discriminatory system from 2000 through 2008.

During that time period, 89 percent of white candidates who took the test passed, compared with 73 percent of African-American candidates and 77 percent of Hispanic candidates, the lawsuit says. If the settlement is approved, police departments would have to stop administering the current exam.

Aseltine said he did not know how many officers would be able to claim some of the $1 million, saying federal officials would administer the process. According to the settlement, the use of the written exam prevented at least 48 more black candidates and 20 more Hispanics from becoming sergeants.

Tags: Articles, discrimination lawsuits, NJ Police, promotional examinations, promotional process, promotions, Sergeant, US Dept. of Justice
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Photo of Donald C. Barbati Donald C. Barbati

Donald C. Barbati is a shareholder of Crivelli, Barbati & DeRose, L.L.C. His primary practice revolves around the representation of numerous public employee labor unions in various capacities to include contract negotiation, unfair labor practice litigation, contract grievance arbitration, and other diverse issues…

Donald C. Barbati is a shareholder of Crivelli, Barbati & DeRose, L.L.C. His primary practice revolves around the representation of numerous public employee labor unions in various capacities to include contract negotiation, unfair labor practice litigation, contract grievance arbitration, and other diverse issues litigated before the courts and administrative tribunals throughout the State of New Jersey. In addition, Mr. Barbati also routinely represents individuals in various types of public pension appeals, real estate transactions, and general litigation matters. He is a frequent contributor to the New Jersey Public Safety Officers Law Blog, a free legal publication designed to keep New Jersey public safety officers up-to-date and informed about legal issues pertinent to their profession. During his years of practice, Mr. Barbati has established a reputation for achieving favorable results for his clients in a cost-efficient manner.

Mr. Barbati has also handled numerous novel legal issues while representing New Jersey Public Safety Officers. Most notably, he served as lead counsel for the Appellants in the published case In re Rodriguez, 423 N.J. Super. 440 (App. Div. 2011). In that case, Mr. Barbati successfully argued on behalf of the Appellants, thereby overturning the Attorney General’s denial of counsel to two prison guards in a civil rights suit arising from an inmate assault. In the process, the Court clarified the standard to be utilized by the Attorney General in assessing whether a public employee is entitled to legal representation and mandated that reliance must be placed on up-to-date information.

Prior to becoming a practicing attorney, Mr. Barbati served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Linda R. Feinberg, Assignment Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Mercer Vicinage. During his clerkship Mr. Barbati handled numerous complex and novel substantive and procedural issues arising from complaints in lieu of prerogative writs, orders to show cause, and motion practice. These include appeals from decisions by planning and zoning boards and local government bodies, bidding challenges under the Local Public Contract Law, Open Public Records Act requests, the taking of private property under the eminent domain statute, and election law disputes. In addition, Mr. Barbati, as a certified mediator, mediated many small claims disputes in the Special Civil Part.

Mr. Barbati received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, magna cum laude, from Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Upon graduating, Mr. Barbati attended Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, Delaware. In 2007, he received his juris doctorate, magna cum laude, graduating in the top five percent of his class. During law school, Mr. Barbati interned for the Honorable Joseph E. Irenas, Senior United States District Court Judge for the District of New Jersey in Camden, New Jersey, assisting on various constitutional, employment, and Third Circuit Court of Appeals litigation, including numerous civil rights, social security, and immigration cases.

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