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Atlanta Libraries Face Stiff Fines for Transferring White Employees

ATLANTA — Fulton County, Ga., is facing a hefty fine because of practices at its library — $25 million to be exact. And it isn't for overdue books.

A federal jury has ordered the Peach State county to cough up the money because it demoted eight librarians from the county's central branch to smaller branches in order to reduce the number of white employees working downtown.

"There are too many white managers," the librarians' lawyer quoted a board member as saying during closing arguments.

The suit is the fourth major reverse discrimination case against Fulton County brought either by county employees or county contractors in recent years. Federal juries have ruled against the county in all the cases.

Fulton County Attorney O.V. Brantley said the county will appeal the award, which she said "bears no relationship to the evidence presented in court."

"This is off the charts and, I think, clearly excessive for employees who were only transferred," she told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

County attorneys argued that the librarians were moved to different branches to make better use of their abilities, not because of their race.

The suit was filed against the chairman of the library board, two board members and the director of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System.

"They made a decision based on race," jury forewoman Phylis Hughes told the Journal-Constitution. "I do not think that any of the defendants are racists, but this decision was based on race."

The library system itself was not found liable.

While the total amount of awards came to $25 million, how much money was to be paid to each plaintiff varied with individual circumstances. Some of the librarians received compensatory awards, others punitive damages.

The largest previous judgment against Fulton County in a reverse discrimination lawsuit was for about $3 million awarded to three employees.

Fulton County Commission Chairman Mike Kenn said the ultimate burden would be on county residents.

"I am greatly disturbed and concerned at the outcome of this case, not only because of the enormity of the judgment, but because this is at least the fourth reverse discrimination case in recent memory that Fulton County has lost, costing the taxpayers literally tens of millions of dollars," he said.

-- Anonymous, January 17, 2002