White NJ firefighter who claimed discrimination gets $450K settlement

The city of Plainfield, N.J., will be paying $450,000 to a deputy firefighter after he filed a discrimination lawsuit alleging the department did not promote him because he is white, NJ.com reported on Monday.

Jeffrey Courtney filed the lawsuit in 2016, claiming that Plainfield Fire Chief Frank Tidwell did “not want a white person to take the position of chief upon his retirement.” 

The $450,000 figure was agreed to at a city council meeting on May 13, according to MyCentralJersey.com. 

{mosads}Courtney’s lawsuit alleges that Tidwell asked black firefighters “if they could take orders from a white man,” but did not ask the same question of white firefighters.

In addition, Courtney claims that Tidwell approved overtime for black firefighters to do work in his office while Courtney’s own overtime was cut back. 

The settlement, which is effective Sept. 1, also says that Courtney will retire from the department this year.

Tidwell has denied the discrimination claims, telling MyCentralJersey that he’s a “very fair individual” and that he sees “everyone the same.” 

Tidwell filed a tort claim in 2017 against the city of Plainfield. In it, he alleges that officials have repeatedly tried to pressure him to retire so that Courtney could replace him.