FBI to Pay $22.6 Million to Settle Sex Bias Claims from Female Trainees, Reports Reuters

By Daniel Wiessner

The U.S. Department of Justice has reached a settlement of $22.6 million in a lawsuit involving 34 women who allege they were unjustly dismissed from the FBI’s agent training academy due to their gender, as detailed in a court filing on Monday.

This settlement, pending approval by a federal judge in Washington, D.C., aims to resolve a class action filed in 2019, which claims that the FBI, a component of the Justice Department, routinely expelled female trainees.

The plaintiffs assert that they were deemed unsuitable to graduate from the training academy, despite performing on par with, or even better than, many of their male counterparts in academic, physical fitness, and firearms assessments. Several plaintiffs also reported experiences of sexual harassment along with sexist jokes and comments.

In addition to the financial payout, the proposed settlement would permit eligible class members to seek reinstatement in the training program and mandate the FBI to engage external experts to ensure the fairness of its trainee evaluation process.

The FBI has denied any wrongdoing and has yet to comment on the matter.

Christine Webber, a representative for the plaintiffs, noted that the settlement signifies "a genuine desire by the FBI to turn the page on the past history of discrimination in new agent training."

The lawsuit accused the FBI of breaching Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits workplace discrimination based on sex and other characteristics.

In response to the lawsuit, the Justice Department’s internal watchdog issued a report in 2022 highlighting that female FBI trainees were disproportionately dismissed and often cited for conduct deemed "unsuitable" for an agent.

According to a report released in April, women comprise less than one-quarter of FBI special agents.