Chicago plans $3.1M settlement in DOJ suit over US residency rule for foreign-born police applicants
A federal civil rights lawsuit filed Friday by the U.S. Department of Justice against the city of Chicago over a residency rule for foreign-born police job applicants reportedly will soon be settled for $3.1 million.
Although the city council has not formally voted to approve the pact, a court filing made by the city shortly after the lawsuit was initiated says it has agreed to the settlement, the Chicago Tribune (reg. req.) reports.
Reuters also has a story about the Chicago suit.
At issue in the case is a 10-year continuous U.S. residency requirement that the city applied to two foreign-born lead plaintiffs who passed written exams in 2006 and 2008 and prevented them from being hired as police officers.
The DOJ said the rule targeted foreign-born applicants and constituted discrimination based on national origin.
The settlement includes compensatory damages to 47 applicants, the Tribune reports. The suit sought an agreement by Chicago to change its hiring practices, and in 2011 the city reduced the “continuous residency requirement” to five years.
It isn’t clear from the article whether the DOJ is satisfied with the five-year residency rule or expects the city to further revise its hiring policy as part of the settlement.
