A federal judge has granted final approval of a $29 million settlement between New York City and hundreds of fire protection inspectors who alleged they were paid less than building inspectors due to racial discrimination—a deal reached in part through the representation of Gladstein, Reif & Meginniss LLP, on behalf of a newly added subclass of workers.
Judge Analisa Torres of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York signed off on the settlement on Tuesday after a fairness hearing, finalizing a class action that began in May 2020. The plaintiffs alleged that a predominantly Black workforce of fire protection inspectors (FPIs) was systematically underpaid compared to the mostly white building inspectors, despite performing substantially similar work.
The settlement followed an initial rejection of a proposed settlement by the court, over concerns about a potential conflict of interest arising from both the “damages class” and “pay adjustment class” being represented by the same attorneys.
After Brandon Bowman and Sebastian Stack intervened as representatives of the pay adjustment class, and with new counsel from Gladstein, Reif & Meginniss LLP, the settlement was renegotiated and ultimately approved.
The “damages class” includes FPIs who worked between May 1, 2017, and Aug. 31, 2023, while the “pay adjustment class” covers FPIs employed between Sept. 1, 2023, and Aug. 31, 2024.
The damages class is represented by counsel from Valli Kane & Vagnini LLP and Mehri & Skalet PLLC.
The case is Chalmers v. City of New York, No. 1:20-cv-03389, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.