The Washington Post
June 8, 1989, Thursday, Final Edition
U.S. Checks Fairfax on Job Bias;
Justice Dept. Seeks Employment Data
BYLINE: Lynda Richardson, Washington Post Staff Writer
The Justice Department has requested new statistics from the
Fairfax County government on its minority hiring and promotion practices after
black police officers and other minority county employees alleged a lingering
pattern of racial discrimination. According to a May 17 letter to the County
Attorney's Office, the Justice Department is seeking the information "to
examine the county's compliance" with a 1982 consent decree that closed a
Justice suit against Fairfax concerning discrimination. A copy of the letter
was obtained by The Washington Post.The letter said that Justice wants the
county "to provide written and performance test results by race and sex
for each sworn [non-civilian] position in the police department for the years
1987 and 1988. This data should include an indication of those appointed from
the tests by race and sex."
Tests are used by Fairfax and many jurisdictions to
determine which police officers receive promotions. In recent weeks, some black
officers in the Fairfax County Police Department have complained about what
they perceive to be racial discrimination, in terms of promotions and
on-the-job slights. Some have expressed their concerns in a meeting with Police
Chief John Granfield and some have said that they are considering the formation
of a black police group.Cornelius J. O'Kane, the county's personnel director,
said that the county will comply with the Justice Department's request but
declined to discuss the letter, which was signed by a paralegal specialist
under the name of James P. Turner, the acting assistant attorney general of the
civil rights division.Amy Brown, a Justice spokeswoman, declined to say whether
the letter constitutes a reactivation of the department's semi-annual reviews
of the Fairfax County's affirmative action program. Those reviews, part of the
1982 consent decree, ended in late 1986.In that decree, Fairfax County -- the
region's most prosperous and populous jurisdiction -- was ordered to rectify a
"pattern of disparate treatment of blacks" in professional, technical
and public safety jobs and of women in paraprofessional and maintenance
positions.The county remains bound by the decree, although it has not been
required to file reports with the department for the last year and a half.In
the past, the reports included information about performance tests, the race
and sex of applicants and appointees to job vacancies, and other work force
statistics.In the new letter, Justice also asked for a copy of the county's
most recent personnel rules and affirmative action plan.Brown said that it is
not unusual for the agency to request "different types of
information" from the county. "We are aware of concerns of
discrimination," Brown said. ". . . As part of our ongoing monitoring
of the decree, we are looking into the situation, and also any time we get
complaints we look into that."County Supervisor Thomas M. Davis III
(R-Mason) said that Justice's request may be in response to a recent complaint
from a county minority employee group or the NAACP. "To my knowledge, this
is not a continuous request. I would look at this as a routine request,"
Davis said.Brown said that the department's request for updated statistics is
not related to another Justice Department investigation into recent allegations
that Fairfax police officers used unnecessary force on two black men who were
in custody.After one incident in which a handcuffed suspect was struck in the
mouth by white officers using a nightstick, the officers involved were
suspended and in one case demoted, according to sources. Some black police
officers said that they believed black officers would have received more severe
punishment.NAACP representatives and the chairman of the county's minority
employees association said they welcome the Justice Department action. Glenwood
Roane, an NAACP official who heads the federation of Northern Virginia
branches, said "I haven't seen any real effort" by the county to
aggressively pursue equality in appointments and promotions. "It's the
mentality of the county in that they haven't been responsive," he
said.Roane and Gerald Carpenter, chairman of the Fairfax County Minority
Employees Advisory Council, said they have made repeated requests to the county
for data on minority hiring and promotions, but have received no information.In
the last year and a half, at least two supervisors -- Kate Hanley
(D-Providence) and Gerald Hyland (D-Mount Vernon) -- have requested status
reports on minority hiring and upward mobility.Supervisors were told by county
officials that such information could not be obtained until a new computer
system was installed, according to Supervisor Martha V. Pennino
(D-Centreville)."Because of newspaper reports and rumors," Pennino
said, she wants the entire issue of minority hiring to be studied. "I want
to put the issue to rest. Is it accurate or not?"Staff writer John Ward
Anderson contributed to this report.