Baltimore Agrees To Stop Disabilities Questions For Job Offers

BALTIMORE (AP) -- The U.S. Justice Department has reached an agreement with Baltimore that will require the city to cease hiring practices the federal government deems discriminatory toward applicants with disabilities.

The department announced a consent decree on Wednesday that bans the city from requiring applicants to submit to medical examinations and answer questions about disabilities prior to making conditional job offers.

The agreement requires Baltimore to pay $65,000 in damages to the complainant, who said she was rejected from a job as a dispatcher for the fire department after answering disability-related questions and undergoing a medical examination the Justice Department calls "unlawful."

The agreement also requires the city to modify its policies and train its human resources staff.

The consent decree is subject to approval in federal court.