As reported by nj.com, North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue’s residents-only hiring policy discriminates against blacks applying to be on the force, a federal appeals court ruled Monday. In issuing its decision, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Newark branch of the NAACP, which brought the initial lawsuit in 2007 on behalf of firefighter candidates Allen Wallace, Lamara Wapples, and Altarik White.

“The judges’ decision covered every issue…the argument that a broader hiring process would discriminate against Hispanics (in North Hudson) is thoroughly incorrect,” said one of the NAACP’s attorneys in the matter. ‘Obviously, we’re pleased.”

The Court noted that as of 2000, the population of North Hudson’s member municipalities North Bergen, Weehawken, West New York, Guttenberg, and Union City was 69.6 percent Hispanic, 22.9 percent white non-Hispanic, and 3.4 percent African-American. 

The attorney for North Hudson Regional said the department is “disappointed” by the Court’s ruling. “The decision is inherently unfair to NHRFR communities, particularly the large Hispanic population. There are various other federally mandated policies in other jurisdictions,” he said, adding the department will file for an “en banc” hearing.

A “en banc” hearing would be heard by all of the judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. An application for such a hearing must be filed within 14 days of the original ruling. If it is heard, the majority opinion rules. The only other arena for an appeal would be the U.S. Supreme Court.

In its ruling, the federal appeals court took into consideration reports from experts that in the tri-county area of Hudson, Bergen, and Essex, 37.4 percent of firefighters were African-American. Based on this percentage, 121 North Hudson Regional firefighters should be African-American, the court stated. Statewide, the percent of African-American firefighters is 20 percent. Based on that percentage, 65 North Hudson firefighters should be African-American, the court said.

Instead, out of 302 North Hudson Regional firefighters, 240 were white non-Hispanic, 58 were Hispanic, and only two were African-American, according to 2008 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) figures, the court said.

Tags: Articles, discrimination, North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue, residency requirements
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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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