After more than seven years of litigation that led to a series of reforms in how the New York Fire Department recruits minorities, the city settled a lawsuit against the department on Tuesday, agreeing to pay nearly $100 million in back pay and benefits.

For Mayor Bill de Blasio, who vigorously criticized the civil-rights records of both the Police and Fire Departments during his campaign last year, the decision to settle the suit represented yet another sharp break from the Bloomberg administration.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/19/nyregion/new-york-settles-bias-lawsuit-against-fire-department.html?hp&_r=1