CHICAGO (May 4, 2013) — Up to 140 aspiring women firefighters have the right to report to the Chicago Fire Department Academy on Monday morning if they want to be reconsidered for the positions for which they were originally rejected.
Initial processing for the women will take place at the Chicago Fire Department Academy South, 1338 South Clinton on Monday, May 6, 2013 at 9:00am.
"We've been able to contact many of the women eligible for this opportunity, but not all—so we're working to spread the word and to encourage women who are included in the class to make sure they report to the Fire Academy on Monday morning," said Marni Willenson, one of the attorneys on the suit. "The City has also worked to update addresses and inform women of this opportunity."
The class action lawsuit Vasich v. City of Chicago alleged that the "physical abilities test" (PAT), used for more than a decade to judge candidates' physical fitness, unfairly failed the vast majority of women — keeping the number of women working in the fire department to 3%, believed to be the lowest percentage of any large city in the country.
For the next round of hiring, the City has agreed use the Candidate Physical Abilities Test (CPAT), a test used by numerous municipalities including many Chicago suburbs. The requirements of the test and scoring will be disclosed to all candidates, giving them the chance to undertake the appropriate pre-test training, which has been shown to greatly improve performance on the CPAT.
The lawyers representing the women in the lawsuit will also be running a 12-week training program that starts the week of May 6.
"This is an amazing opportunity for women who were passed over for positions as firefighters because of the old test," said Willenson. "We hope that word gets out so that all of the 140 women who are still interested in becoming firefighters know to report to the Fire Academy on Monday to start this process anew."
"We are confident that women in Chicago will show that they are fully capable of performing the job of firefighter," said Willenson.
Class members who have received no notice of this opportunity from CFD should contact the CFD personnel division and the plaintiffs' lawyers immediately. To contact the CFD, class members should call 312-746-6923. To contact the attorneys who represent the class, call Marni Willenson at 312-508-5380.