Entry - level firefighters to receive a total of $ 98 million in back pay to settle lawsuit . The lawsuit , filed in 2010 , claimed New York Fire Department personnel were racially biased . `` For decades , black and other minority firefighters have been severely underrepresented in the Department 's ranks . A judge ordered the department to accept 293 black and Latino applicants .
Entry - level firefighters to receive a total of $ 98 million in back pay to settle lawsuit . The lawsuit , filed in 2010 , claimed New York Fire Department personnel were racially biased . A judge ordered the department to accept 293 black and Latino applicants .