Georgia City and county Settle Gender Discrimination Lawsuit A southern Georgia City and County have agreed not to discriminate against women when hiring for fire and emergency medical technician positions, under an agreement reached with the Justice Department. The agreement, filed in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Georgia, resolves a lawsuit filed by the Justice Department in June 1999, alleging that the City of Alma and Bacon County Georgia, discriminated against women by refusing to hire them for full-time positions as Firefighters/Paramedics or Firefighter/Emergency Medical Technicians. "The Department of Justice will not tolerate employment discrimination against women," said Bill Lann Lee, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division. "Other jurisdictions should know that we will continue our efforts to seek to remedy such discrimination wherever it occurs." In its lawsuit, the Justice Department alleged that the City and County violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, by refusing to hire Pamela F. Starling and other women for full-time positions at the Alma-Bacon County Firefighter and Emergency Medical Service because of their sex. The Justice Department also alleged that the City and County refused to take appropriate action to correct the effects of their discriminatory policies and practices. Under today's agreement, the City and County will: Prevent retaliation against any person who has opposed the policies and practices at issue in this matter, or who has assisted or participated in the investigation of this matter; w create a recruitment program designed to attract qualified female applicants for full-time firefighting positions and report semi-annually to the Justice Department regarding the recruitment program for at least five years from the date the court enters the agreement; Notify the United States before hiring any individual into a full-time firefighting or emergency medical services position, and provide to the United States for its review and approval information regarding the qualifications of any applicants for the position in question; and, pay $180,000 to Starling and five other women whom the Justice Department alleged were denied for hire or consideration for hire as full time firefighter/emergency medical technicians or firefighter/paramedics. The Justice Department began investigating the City and County after receiving a referral from the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in Savannah, Georgia which received the initial allegations of discrimination from Starling. The EEOC investigated Starling's charge, found reasonable cause to believe that the allegations of discrimination were true, and referred the charge to the Justice Department after efforts to resolve the matter with the City and County failed.

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