In the early 1990s, an agency report described a gap in job satisfaction between Black and White employees, and widespread perceptions among personnel that a “good old boy network” disenfranchised minorities.īut lawyers behind the class action argue the Marshals Service has never meaningfully addressed Black employees’ concerns and said they are unaware of any broad review of the agency’s racial climate since the 1990s. The Marshals Service has acknowledged some problems over the years, telling the EEOC in a 2000 report that it was reworking its deputy hiring exam after the test was found to have a “significant adverse impact” on African Americans. Stossel, deputy chief of public affairs, said agency policy does not allow officials to speak with the news media about ongoing litigation. The Marshals Service declined to answer questions about the class action or its members’ underlying complaints of institutional racism. Many remembered White colleagues telling racist jokes or using the n-word to demean fellow employees and prisoners of color, without apparent repercussions. Some estimate they lost out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in income. They recounted stories of debilitating stress needlessly contentious hiring interviews that could end after a single question job openings suddenly closed after Black people rose to the top of the selection process and indignation at training White newcomers who quickly became their supervisors. They say one of the country’s oldest federal law enforcement agencies - tasked with protecting courthouses, transporting prisoners, shielding witnesses and tracking down fugitives - has failed to confront decades of discrimination. In interviews with The Washington Post, 15 current and former Black employees of the Marshals Service detailed allegations of racial bias that undercut career advancement.
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