Secret Service agrees to pay $24 million in race-bias case brought by black agents

WashPost

The Secret Service agreed Tuesday to pay $24 million to settle a two-decade-old case in which more than 100 black agents alleged that the agency fostered a racist culture and routinely promoted white agents over more qualified African Americans, according to documents filed in court and interviews with representatives of both sides.

As part of the deal, which is the result of a push in the waning days of the Obama administration, the agency admits to no wrongdoing or institutional bias.

But the payments to the agents — including lump sums as high as $300,000 each to the original eight plaintiffs — are intended to remedy the sting of the discrimination the agents say they suffered and the job opportunities they lost, according to interviews with representatives from both sides.

Jennifer Klar, the lead attorney for the black agents, described her clients as thrilled with a result they hope will prevent future discrimination in the agency.

“At long last . . . black Secret Service agents will not be constrained by the glass ceiling that held back so many for so long,” Klar said.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, whose department includes the agency, said in a statement that the resolution was “simply the right thing to do.”

“I am pleased that we are able to finally put this chapter of Secret Service history behind us,” said Johnson, who directed his staff last year to take a fresh look at resolving the case. “Had the matter gone to trial, it would have required that we re-live things long past, just at a time when the Secret Service is on the mend.”

Secret Service Director Joseph P. Clancy described the pending settlement in a conference call with former directors Tuesday afternoon and then sent an agency-wide message to the staff late Tuesday night.

“While the Secret Service takes all allegations in this case seriously, the organization has, and continues to be, committed to a fair and transparent promotion process,” said spokeswoman Catherine Milhoan. “It is time to move forward rather than look back to remnants of the past.”

As part of the deal, the Secret Service has agreed to change its long-standing promotion process by considering multiple candidates for each position and keeping records of factors for making promotions.

The agency also agreed to create a hotline for agents to report bias, and to keep track of racial-bias complaints made against supervisors when considering them for promotion.

The elite law enforcement agency responsible for the president’s safety had long rejected the lawsuit’s central claim that it created a “glass ceiling” that kept black agents relegated to lower rungs. [MORE]