On November 17, 2022, Newman Ferrara’s Civil Rights Practice Group, along with the Law Offices of Frederick K. Brewington, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, initiated a lawsuit in the Eastern District of New York against the County of Nassau, the Nassau County Civil Service Commission, and the Nassau County Police Department, alleging discriminatory hiring practices, constitutional violations (Fourteenth Amendment), and New York State Human Rights Law transgressions.
The Complaint, filed on behalf of Plaintiff Jhisaiah Myers and all non-white applicants to the Nassau County Police Department who passed the written exam but were later disqualified, alleges that the Defendants have a history of discriminatory hiring practices. In fact, there was a Consent Decree, entered in 1982, which sought to change Defendants’ qualification and selection criteria to ensure that any discriminatory impact would be discontinued. However, it is alleged that the Defendants have failed to comply with their legal obligations -- with current hiring statistics showing more discriminatorily disproportionate activity. (Newsday first reported on the lack of diversity in the Nassau and Suffolk County Police Departments, back in 2021.)
Professor Randolph McLaughlin, Co-Chair of Newman Ferrara’s Civil Rights Practice Group, in a recent Newsday article about the case, noted: “Officers Myers’ complaint takes a brave stand against long-standing discrimination, which is pervasive throughout the [hiring] process and routinely transforms applicant pools that initially mirror the county’s diverse demographics to recruit classes that are unjustifiably and disproportionately white.”
Prof. McLaughlin, who also appeared on a News12 Bronx segment, observed: “It’s no accident that only 4%, as of 2021, of the Nassau County Police Officers are African American.”
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If you are a victim of discrimination (of any kind), please do not hesitate to reach out to one of our lawyers by calling 212-619-5400.
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To view a copy of the complaint form, click here: MYERS v, NASSAU COUNTY, et al
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Media coverage about this lawsuit can be found here:
Newsday article: https://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/nassau-police-discrimination-lawsuit-v76wlk52
Bloomberg article: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/nassau-pd-discriminates-against-non-white-applicants-suit-says
News12 Bronx feature: https://bronx.news12.com/nypd-officer-files-lawsuit-aimed-at-changing-nassau-county-police-hiring
Fox5: https://www.fox5ny.com/news/nassau-county-police-accused-racial-discrimination-hiring