The Levittown Fire Department and Fire District is one of three Long Island fire departments that will pay fines and change policies for displaying Confederate flags on its property and allegations of discriminatory membership policies and application materials.
The state Division of Human Rights announced on Monday, March 17, that fire departments and districts of Levittown, Holbrook, and Brookhaven will all pay settlements as they unlawfully requested and considered information about applicants’ national origin, religion, and other protected classes as part of the application process.
Brookhaven and Levittown also had Confederate flags on their property.
The settlements require the fire departments and districts to remove all displays or depictions of the Confederate flag, change policies prohibiting the use of this symbol in the future, train on the Human Rights Law, amend their membership applications and policies to comply with the state’s Human Rights Law and to pay civil fines to the state totaling $28,000.
The five complaints were all filed in 2021, according to the division.
The Levittown Fire Department declined to comment on Monday’s settlement.
“When services like these display symbols of racism or maintain policies that unlawfully discriminate against people who may want to join the department, it damages public trust and harms communities,” Division of Human Rights Acting Commissioner Denise M. Miranda said.
The Division of Human Rights found in its investigation of the Levittown Fire District and Fire Department that it operated a drill team known as the “Rebels” that competed against teams from other fire departments in tests of firefighting skills.
The Levittown team used equipment featuring a cartoon character holding a Confederate flag and wearing a belt marked by the letters “L.F.D.” for “Levittown Fire Department,” according to the division. The complaint alleged that this character, including the Confederate flag it held, was placed on Fire Department vehicles and apparel.
The complaints said that the Confederate flag is a historical symbol of racism and that its display by the departments violated the New York State Human Rights Law by conveying a discriminatory message.
The division also alleged that the Levittown Department’s membership application unlawfully required applicants to disclose their citizenship status, including whether the applicant was a citizen by birth or by naturalization, as well as unlawfully requiring applicants to disclose their marital status and whether they had ever been charged with or convicted of a crime.
The three fire districts will remain subject to ongoing review by the Division of Human Rights to confirm their compliance with the terms of their respective settlement agreements for three years on a semi-annual basis, according to Monday’s announcement.
