In this episode of In the Public Interest, podcast co-host Felicia Ellsworth sits down with WilmerHale Partner Lisa Pirozzolo to discuss a pro bono matter in which the City of Boston agreed to pay $2.6 million to settle a longstanding federal discrimination lawsuit. The lawsuit, which was initially filed nearly 20 years ago, alleged that a hair test used by the city to identify drug use on its police force was discriminatory, unreliable and scientifically flawed.

Ellsworth and Pirozzolo are joined by two of the plaintiffs in the case, Keri Hogan and William Bridgeforth (“Bridgy”), as well as Oren Sellstrom, Litigation Director at Lawyers for Civil Rights, who, alongside WilmerHale, represented the plaintiffs in this matter.

Keri and Bridgy share their experience with the hair test, the very real impact it had on their careers and lives, how they got involved with the lawsuit, and what the settlement means to them. Sellstrom and Pirozzolo discuss the background of the test and why it is flawed, and what this settlement means for others.