New York City has agreed to pay about $21 million to black and Hispanic City parks employees who said that they received less pay and fewer promotions than white co-workers and claimed that the City retaliated against them when they complained.
Robert Stroup, a lead attorney in the case at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said the settlement is a win for black and Latino city employees.
“So many parks employees would go to work every day and be exposed to a negative environment, one that did not offer promise or hope but rather said if you are black or Latino you don’t have the same opportunities as white employees,” Stroup said. “That’s no longer the message the parks department sends to its employees.”
The City, which denied any wrongdoing, decided to settle to avoid tying up resources in a trial that could have lasted months, a law department spokeswoman said.