FBI will pay $22.6 million to settle female trainees' sex bias claims

The Federal Bureau of Investigation agreed to pay $22.6 million to settle a lawsuit by 34 women who allege they were wrongly dismissed from the agency's agent training academy because of their sex, a court filing said Monday.

The settlement would resolve a 2019 class-action lawsuit claiming the FBI, which is part of the U.S. Department of Justice, had a widespread practice of forcing out female trainees. A federal judge in Washington must approve the deal.

The plaintiffs say that they were found unsuitable to graduate from the training academy even though they performed as well as, or better than, many male trainees on academic, physical fitness, and firearms tests. Some of them also say they were subjected to sexual harassment and sexist jokes and comments.

Along with the payout, the proposed settlement would allow eligible class members to seek reinstatement to the agent training program and require the FBI to hire outside experts to ensure that its evaluation process for trainees is fair.

"The FBI has deprived itself of some genuinely exceptional talent," David J. Shaffer, the lawyer who originally filed the lawsuit, said in a statement. "Unfortunately, some in the settlement class may not seek reinstatement because in the years since their dismissal, they have rebuilt their careers and families elsewhere. Nevertheless, these women should be incredibly proud of what they have accomplished in holding the FBI accountable."

The FBI, which has denied wrongdoing, declined to comment on the settlement but said it has taken significant steps over the past five years to ensure gender equity in agent training.

'Bring a measure of justice'

The lawsuit accused the FBI of violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars workplace discrimination based on sex and other characteristics. Less than one-quarter of FBI special agents are women, the agency said in a report issued in April.

Paula Bird, a practicing lawyer and lead plaintiff in the suit, said she was "extremely pleased" that the settlement "will bring a measure of justice" and make the FBI make changes "that will give women going through agent training in the future a fair shot at their dream career."

"My dream was to be an FBI agent," Bird said in a statement. "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."

The settlement comes nearly two years after the Justice Department Office of the Inspector General's December 2022 report, commissioned by the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, about gender equity in the bureau's training programs.

Earlier this year, the Justice Department announced that it would pay nearly $139 million to survivors of Larry Nassar's sexual abuse as part of a settlement stemming from the FBI's mishandling of the initial allegations.

Contributing: Reuters

Contact reporter Krystal Nurse at knurse@USATODAY.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter,@KrystalRNurse.