FBI will compensate dozens of female recruits who suffered discrimination and harassment at Quantico
The plaintiffs said they were the targets of comments from instructors about their physique and well as those of a sexual nature. The lawsuit lasted five years.
J. Edgar Hoover Building, FBI headquarters
The FBI will pay more than $22 million to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by several women who entered Quantico to join the agency. The recruits alleged that several instructors discriminated against them on the basis of gender and harassed them.
The settlement reached between the two parties comes after five years of legal proceedings. The lawsuit was filed in 2019 by 34 women who entered the FBI academy to become part of the agency.
During their time at Quantico, the complainants claimed they received a higher level of demand than men, in addition to saying that some of the instructors made comments regarding their physiques as well of those of a sexual nature. They also claimed that instructors said female recruits should take contraceptives to control "their moods," according to a report by the Associated Press.
"These problems are pervasive within the FBI and the attitudes that created them were learned at the academy. This case will make important major changes in these attitudes," stated David J. Shaffer, one of the whistleblowers' attorneys.
FBI 'ensures gender equity'
The agency acknowledged in a report that several of the points made in the lawsuit were true. However, it assured that in the last five years they have implemented measures to "ensure even more gender equity in the training and development" of new recruits and to make sure that episodes like those mentioned in the lawsuit are not repeated.
In addition to reaching a financial settlement with the victims, the FBI has offered them the possibility of returning to Quantico so that they can complete their training, guaranteeing them a position within the agency if they complete it.
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