Cobb commissioners to consider consent decree with USDOJ over how county hires firefighters

Sam Sachs
·2 min read

Following a 2020 U.S. Department of Justice investigation into how the Cobb County Fire Department screened potential hirees for job interviews, the Cobb County Board of Commissioners will consider entering a consent decree with the federal government on Tuesday.

According to the Cobb County Government, the Fire Department used credit checks as a screening device from 2016 to 2020, in addition to a rank-order usage of the Accuplacer in 2020, which they described as a standardized test for prospective hires.

The U.S. Department of Justice was reviewing the hiring policies of the Cobb County Fire Department contending that, according to the county, the practices desperately impacted African American job applicants.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

While the USDOJ did not find evidence of intentional discrimination, the county said, both the use of a credit check and Accuplacer were voluntarily ended in 2020.

In the county’s own words, the federal government found that past hiring practices unintentionally impacted African American applicants.

“We are pleased that the DOJ’s comprehensive review confirmed no intentional discrimination in our hiring practices and identified no issues with our current process,” Fire Chief Bill Johnson said. “We are dedicated to continuing our efforts to recruit, hire, and retain well-qualified firefighters to serve Cobb’s citizens.”

TRENDING STORIES:

As a result, the Board of Commissioners is considering entering into a consent decree with the federal government.

Under the decree, the county would pay $750,000 in relief to be distributed pro-rata to eligible individuals, in addition to hiring up to 16 firefighters, with limited retroactive seniority benefits, from the pool of eligible individuals, the county said.

For the consent decree to take effect, it would have to be approved by a federal district court.

“I have been in continuing communications with our county attorney’s office on this matter,” Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Lisa Cupid said. “In 2020, our fire department ceased the practices that led to the DOJ’s contentions. I look forward to resolving this with the DOJ to end any practices that could have unintended disparate or discriminatory impacts. Our goal is and should always [be] to be inclusive in finding the best candidates to work in Cobb County.”

On April 9, the Board of Commissioners will consider the consent decree during its scheduled meeting.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

IN OTHER NEWS: