Trials & Litigation
Suit by FBI Analyst Says Fitness Test for Agents Is Biased Against Men
FBI analyst Jay Bauer would have passed the test to become an agent if he had done just one more pushup.
In a suit filed last week in Chicago federal court, the former college professor says the FBI test for agents requires men to do 30 pushups, but he was able to do only 29. Women, on the other hand, must complete only 14 pushups, which is equivalent to 27 to 29 pushups for men, the suit claims. The Chicago Tribune has a story on the lawsuit.
After Bauer joined the FBI in 2009, he scored at or near the top of his class in firearms training and academics, the suit says. He was also selected as class leader. His suit says a woman in his class was allowed to take the fitness test twice, but he got only one chance.
