Court to rehear Rochester discrimination claims

A federal appeals court has granted Rochester's request for a rehearing of its petition to dismiss discrimination claims made by two firefighter applicants.

The Post-Bulletin reports the city got the news from the 8th Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals on Wednesday. The court's 11 active judges will hear the request Oct. 20.

Rochester City Attorney Terry Adkins says it's extremely rare for the court to grant such a rehearing. In May, a three-judge panel denied the city's dismissal petition.

The decision to rehear the petition vacates that three-judge panel's decision, though the 11 judges could come to the same decision after conducting their own hearing.

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In the case, a woman and a Native American man allege they were discriminated against in a 2005 hiring decision.

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Information from: The Rocehster Post-Bulletin

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)