The city will pay nearly $30 million to settle a massive race discrimination lawsuit filed by FDNY fire protection inspectors, according to the union repping the workers.
First filed in 2020 by five FDNY inspectors, the $29.9 million settlement will now pay out to nearly 600 members of the class action suit — current or past FDNY employees who say the city racially discriminated against them in their pay.
“Our members have been fighting the inequality and mistreatment they receive in the FDNY for decades,” said Oren Barzilay, president of FDNY EMS Local 2507, the union representing the inspectors. “This settlement for Fire Inspectors is a step in the right direction of correcting that inequity.”
The suit’s racial discrimination claim states that FDNY fire protection inspectors are predominantly not white and as a result, they are paid up to 20% — or $9,000 per year — less than building department inspectors despite the jobs being substantially similar.
Department of Building inspectors are roughly 50% white, while FDNY inspectors are roughly 70% non-white, the suit claims.
Plaintiffs will receive an average payout of between $5,000 to $35,000, depending on what part of the class action they are members of, according to the union, with the awards scheduled to be paid by next fall.
But the settlement isn’t all about the big bucks — the agreement will also help create a labor-management committee for the inspectors.
A spokesperson for the city Law Department told The Post they are “pleased” with the court’s preliminary sign-off on the settlement.
“Fire protection inspectors play a critical role in keeping residents and businesses safe,” the spokesperson said, “and while no admission of wrongdoing is made through this settlement, the city stands firmly against all forms of discrimination, including unintentional bias, as alleged here.”
While the inspectors’ case might be over, a separate federal suit making similar race and sex discrimination claims got class action certification in September, with more than 4,500 EMTs and paramedics as members.
“The city chronically violates our members’ rights based on color and gender,” Brazilay charged. “This same pay practice is currently ongoing in our EMS ranks.
“Our members, who risk their lives every day to care for New Yorkers, deserve better than this and should be compensated and treated with the same value as the city’s other first responders.”
