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FBI Cuts Hefty Settlement With 34 Female Recruits

Women who said they were sexually discriminated against get $22M payout
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 30, 2024 10:10 AM CDT
FBI to Pay $22M to Settle Sex Discrimination Lawsuit
An FBI seal is seen on a wall on Aug. 10, 2022, in Omaha, Nebraska.   (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

The FBI has agreed to pay more than $22 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging female recruits were singled out for dismissal in training and routinely harassed by instructors with sexually charged comments about their breast size, false allegations of infidelity, and the need to take contraception "to control their moods." The payout to 34 women dismissed from the FBI's training academy in Quantico, Virginia, which is still subject to approval by a federal judge, would rank among the biggest lawsuit settlements in the history of the bureau. "These problems are pervasive within the FBI and the attitudes that created them were learned at the academy," said David J. Shaffer, the lawyer for the women, per the AP. "This case will make important major changes in these attitudes."

Filed in 2019, the lawsuit contends that female recruits were subjected to a hostile working environment in which they were judged more harshly than their male peers and "excessively targeted for correction and dismissal in tactical situations for perceived lack of judgment" and subjective "suitability" criteria. One of the women said she was admonished to "smile more" and subjected to repeated sexual advances. Another said an instructor leered at her and stared at her chest, "sometimes while licking his lips." "Through passive tolerance," the lawsuit said, "the FBI has intentionally allowed the Good Old Boy Network to flourish unrestrained at the FBI Academy."

Men still make up some three-quarters of the bureau's special agents despite efforts to diversify in recent years. Among the provisions of the settlement was that the FBI would offer the plaintiffs a chance to continue training toward becoming agents and "guaranteed placement," for those who pass, in one of their top three preferred field offices. The bureau also has agreed to a review by outside experts who will work to ensure that female recruits face a fair evaluation process. Some of the women have moved on to other careers, Shaffer said, adding "the FBI has deprived itself of some genuinely exceptional talent." Paula Bird, a lead plaintiff in the case who's now a lawyer, said that while the experience has been "disillusioning," she was "pleased that this settlement will bring a measure of justice to the women who were unfairly dismissed."

(More FBI stories.)

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