FBI to pay $22 million to settle claims of sexual discrimination at the training academy. The payout to 34 women dismissed from the FBI’s training academy in Quantico, Virginia, would rank among the biggest lawsuit settlements in the bureau’s history.
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, still subject to approval by a federal judge, would rank among the biggest lawsuit settlements in the bureau’s history.
“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. “This case will make important major changes in these attitudes.”
Filed in 2019, the lawsuit states that female recruits have been subjected to a hostile working environment. They were judged more harshly than their male peers.
Women described being dismissed after quick hearings despite completing months of training and passing all rests related to knowledge, physical fitness, and firearm skills. Some women also stated that instructors perceived them as weak and prone to failure.
Shaffer said, “The FBI has deprived itself of some genuinely exceptional talent.”
Paula Bird said she was extremely pleased that the settlement would bring a measure of justice and hope. It will cause the FBI to make changes that will “give women a fair shot at their dream career.”
“My dream was to be an FBI agent,” said Bird, who was the lead plaintiff in the gender discrimination suit and is now a practicing lawyer. “I interned with the FBI in college and did everything needed to qualify for a special agent role. I even became a lawyer, which the FBI considers a high-value qualification for future agents. It was shattering when the FBI derailed my career trajectory.”