Home Page - Simpson v. Thomas J. Dart

Simpson v. Thomas J. Dart — Official settlement website for Cook County Correctional Officer testing claims.

What is this Lawsuit about?

In 2018, several Black applicants for Cook County Correctional Officer jobs sued Thomas J. Dart in his official capacity as Sheriff of Cook County, the Cook County Sheriff’s Merit Board, and Cook County, claiming that the three tests administered by the Merit Board to screen candidates for Correctional Officer jobs—the first written test, second written test, and physical abilities test—discriminated against Black applicants.

After extensive, court-supervised negotiations, the parties have reached a settlement. Settling does not mean the defendants admit wrongdoing or that the Sheriff's Office admits responsibility for the Merit Board's tests.

What does this settlement achieve?

This settlement includes the following main parts:

Money. Cook County has agreed to pay $5,675,000 into a settlement fund. If the Court approves the settlement, this money will be divided among the class members, after paying reasonable attorneys’ fees, reimbursing costs incurred in the lawsuit, and providing service awards to the plaintiffs who filed this case. All amounts must be approved by the Court. It is expected that approximately $3.4 million will be divided equally among Class Members who file claims, up to a maximum of $10,000 per person.
Jobs. Under the settlement, Class Members who want to re-apply for the job will be able to re-apply under a revised process agreed to as part of this settlement:
1. Second written test or the physical abilities test. If you did not pass the second written test or did not pass the physical abilities test, you will not have to retake them if you re-apply for the job under this Settlement.
2. First written test. If you did not pass the first written test, you get another chance to pass that under this Settlement—using a different scoring system agreed to as part of this Settlement. Depending on the score you got before, you may or may not need to re-take the first written test to achieve a “passing” score under the new scoring system.
3. Disqualifications. Under this Settlement, candidates who are disqualified for reasons other than their test scores will have the right to appeal their disqualification.
Attorneys’ fees and lawsuit costs. The attorneys who filed and litigated this lawsuit have not been paid for their time and effort—thousands of hours. Nor have they been reimbursed for the out-of-pocket costs they advanced to pay for litigation-related expenses (hundreds of thousands of dollars). They will ask the Court to award them one-third of the settlement funds as fees for their time and risk and also an amount to reimburse them for their out-of-pocket costs.
Service awards for the individuals who filed this case. The attorneys who filed this lawsuit will also ask the Court to award the people who helped to bring the lawsuit and whose names are on it $5,000 each, to compensate them for their service. These individuals are: Joseph Simpson, Darius Johnson, Charles Dunner, Jr., Elzina Williams-Gray, and Tiffany Harrison.
Releases. In exchange for the money and job opportunities, all Class Members who do not “opt out” will “release” their claims, which means they cannot sue Thomas J. Dart in his official capacity as Sheriff of Cook County (the Cook County Sheriff’s Office), the Cook County Sheriff’s Merit Board, or Cook County for the same issues involved in this lawsuit.

Two Class Members, Joseph Simpson and Charles Dunner, have separate individual claims for alleged injuries not included in and not resolved by the class action. They have separately settled those claims. Their settlement of those claims will not be deducted from the amount recovered for and by the Class.

YOUR RIGHTS AND OPTIONS IN THIS SETTLEMENT

Submit a Claim Form to Receive Money Submit a Claim Form AND a Job Application to Receive Money AND Reapply for the Job Under a Special Process for Class Members	If you want to receive money from the settlement you need to fill out and submit a Claim Form. If you want to receive money from the settlement AND re-apply for the job, you need to fill out and submit BOTH a Claim Form and a Job Application Form. To receive money from this settlement, you do not have to re-apply for the job. IF YOU WANT BOTH, YOU MUST SUBMIT BOTH. If you submit a Claim Form or re-apply for a job, you will be bound by the settlement if the court approves it.
Opt Out	If you don’t want to participate in this settlement and be bound by it, you can “opt out.” To opt out, you must fill out and submit an Opt Out Form. If you “opt out,” you give up your right to any settlement money and you give up the chance to re-apply for the job under the new process created by the settlement. But you preserve any right you might have to bring another lawsuit against Thomas J. Dart in his official capacity as Sheriff of Cook County, the Cook County Sheriff’s Merit Board, and Cook County claiming that the tests you took were discriminatory.
Object	If you are dissatisfied with the settlement but want to participate in it anyway, you can write to the Court explaining what you dislike about it. This is called an “objection.” Unlike opting out, filing an objection does not keep you from claiming your share of the settlement money or re-applying for the job under the new process created by the settlement. But, to object and still receive your share of the settlement money, you must submit a Claim Form and to re-apply for the job under the new process you must submit the Job Application.
Do Nothing	If you do nothing—neither file a Claim Form, nor a Job Application, nor opt out, nor object—you will not receive any money from the settlement. You will lose the chance to re-apply for a Correctional Officer job through the special process for Class Members. You will get nothing, but you will still be bound by the Settlement.