The Secret Service will pay $24 million to settle a Clinton administration-era lawsuit in which more than 100 black agents said the agency promoted white agents over more qualified African-Americans.
The Washington Post reported Tuesday the lawsuit alleged the Secret Service will not admit any wrongdoing or institutional bias but agreed to pay the settlement. The eight plaintiffs in the case will get $300,000 each and the rest of the settlement will be distributed among other black agents.
Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson told the Post it was “simply the right thing to do” in a statement.
“I am pleased that we are able to finally put this chapter of Secret Service history behind us,” he said. “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.”
The case centered on agents who were turned down for promotions from 1995 to 2005 in favor of white agents. According to the suit, the white agents often had less experience and worse performance ratings than the black agents.
One black agent, Ray Moore, was a member of President Clinton’s detail and bid 200 times for a promotion without success, despite training several white agents who were promoted ahead of him.
Evidence unveiled in the case showed the Secret Service was a place that tolerated racial jokes and racist slurs in the 1990s and 2000s.
The Secret Service agreed to consider multiple candidates for each position and keep records of why they were promoting agents, changing a long-standing practice, according to the Post. In addition, it will create a hotline for agents to report racial bias and to keep track of complaints made against supervisors.
