The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against the city of Gary for racial discrimination.

Six individuals, all white, applied for jobs with the city of Gary as emergency medical technicians three years ago.  

All were placed on a hiring list but were never hired.

The Department of Justice states that the city offered EMT positions to six black applicants even though they were ranked lower than the white applicants on the city’s hiring list.

The city had told each applicant that hiring would be based on the rankings of the applicants. The suit alleges the city hired an African-American who wasn’t even on the hiring list.The Justice Department filed the suit in federal court in Hammond.

It says the city of Gary, which has 86, 000 residents, more than 80% of whom are black, violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by not hiring the six white applicants.

Gary City Attorney Jerome Taylor could not immediately be reached for comment.