New York City slapped with bridge painter bias suit

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City has never hired a female bridge painter even though qualified women have applied for the job, the U.S. Attorney's office said in a discrimination lawsuit filed in federal court on Monday.

Since 1997, 56 people, including three qualified women, have applied for 13 jobs as bridge painters, according to the complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney's office, adding that all 13 jobs were awarded to men.

New York City employs about 100 bridge painters to maintain the 770 bridges it operates and the city's Department of Transportation denies that it had engaged in discrimination.

"We are confident the court will determine that DOT's hiring practices for bridge painters comply with civil service requirements and are gender neutral," Georgia Pestana, the chief of the Labor and Employment Division of New York's law department, said in a statement.

The city's civil service process requires the Department of Transportation to administer an open and competitive search when filling competitive positions like bridge painters.

But since 1992, the agency has not administered a civil service exam for bridge painters and has gotten around the rule by hiring on a provisional basis, the U.S. attorney's office said in the lawsuit.

The city's failure or refusal to hire female bridge painters constitutes sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act if 1964, the U.S. Attorney's office said.