Legal woes continue in Cobb, County seeks to avoid DOJ lawsuit over hiring practices

The legal hits keep coming for Cobb County as it finds itself embroiled in the latest of several lawsuit. Last week, the Cobb County Fire Department found itself in legal proceedings as it seeks to resolve issues raised by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into its hiring practices. Following the investigation initiated in November 2019, the Cobb Board of Commissioners is finally contemplating entering an agreement with the DOJ to avert potential litigation.

While the investigation did not uncover evidence of intentional discrimination in hiring practices from 2016-2020, it did highlight certain practices that disproportionately impacted Black firefighter applicants. These included the department’s utilization of credit checks and rank-order usage of standardized tests. According to county attorney William Rowling, the County’s practices, “had a disparate impact on Black firefighter applicants during that time period.”

Under the proposed agreement, known as a consent decree, Cobb would pay $750,000 in pro rata monetary relief to eligible individuals affected by prior hiring practices. Additionally, the department would hire up to 16 firefighters from the pool of eligible individuals. 

Chair Lisa Cupid seems anxious to resolve this latest legal entanglement, but there are still several others on the horizon including the County’s wasteful spending to appeal the ruling from a Superior Court Judge on her illegal ‘home rule’ map. Cupid and her Democratic colleagues created the illegal map, which they have been using to govern matters for the county. One citizen asked Spotlight if everything Cupid did or voted on using that map would be reversed. Like them, Spotlight will be waiting for the appeal court’s ruling and a decision on that.

Commissioner JoAnn Birrell acknowledged the difficulty of the decision, despite consensus among the board members to proceed with the consent order. Birrell emphasized the department’s exceptional standards and expressed relief at resolving the issue.

The consent decree requires approval from the federal district court, which will conduct fairness hearings before finalizing the terms. Eligible applicants must meet current requirements to be considered for hiring.

Cobb Fire Chief Bill Johnson reaffirmed the department’s commitment to recruit, hire, and retain qualified firefighters. The Board of Commissioners is set to discuss the consent decree during its regular meeting.