A group of plaintiffs in the landmark FDNY discrimination case aren’t satisfied with their settlements and asked a Brooklyn federal judge to hike their hauls during a hearing Wednesday.
After a seven-year legal war, the city agreed to devote $99 million to compensate black and Hispanic Fire Department applicants who claim they were stymied by biased exams and general bigotry.
But 101 of the 1,500 members of the class-action lawsuit have filed objections to payouts that range from less than $1,000 to more than $291,000, according to court papers.
Settlements were calculated through a complex range of factors, including whether or not claimants were eventually hired.
Jason Talton, who is slated to receive $179,000, called the settlement “hush money” and said he should receive whatever money he would have made during a firefighting career that never materialized.
Talton said that he was rejected by the department for a suspended-driver’s-license arrest when he was 18 and another unspecified rap.
Talton told Judge Nicholas Garaufis that his rejection based on a teenage arrest was unfair and that his settlement didn’t cut it.
“If you want to get rid of the stigma, don’t give me hush money,” he said.