Justice Department abandoning cases alleging discriminatory police and firefighter hiring

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Source: Associated Press

Justice Department abandoning cases alleging discriminatory police and firefighter hiring

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
Updated 8:16 PM EST, February 26, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is abandoning cases that sought to force police and fire departments to end what the Biden administration alleged were discriminatory hiring processes, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Wednesday in the latest move by the Trump administration to end government support for efforts to increase diversity.

A Justice Department official said the administration is walking away from four cases, including one that led to a settlement agreement resolving an investigation into discriminatory hiring practices affecting Black and female applicants to the Maryland State Police. It’s part of a broader effort by President Donald Trump’s administration to roll back initiatives and programs promoting diversity, equity and inclusion, which Republicans contend threaten merit-based hiring.

“American communities deserve firefighters and police officers to be chosen for their skill and dedication to public safety – not to meet DEI quotas,” the attorney general said in an emailed statement.

In the Maryland case, the Biden administration announced in October that it had reached an agreement with state police to change the ways applicants are tested after the department alleged police used a written test that discriminated against Black candidates and a physical fitness test that discriminated against female applicants.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/justice-department-police-firefighters-hiring-dei-cd39b931fdfa1fec74a25861755d8a51