Jeanette Brooks Priebe
Encyclopedia
Jeanette Brooks Priebe was the Tennessee-born Director of the Louisville Civil Service Board in Kentucky
when she instituted the first affirmative action
hiring program for the Louisville metro area public service personnel
. During the 1970s, Priebe directed the integration of the Louisville Metro Police Department
and the Louisville Division of Fire
.
Priebe led her department in devising a new method of hiring new applicants. Instead of receiving only the top candidates, the hiring department would be able to review all applicants, assuring then that all were considered – including African Americans and women. The new organizational process included a specific job classification system that took a year of intense analysis to complete. Four years before, these descriptions were vague, and a class action suit had been filed on behalf of the one African-American employee. The county government's Personnel Department became "more centralized and, more importantly, more professional." There were also new procedures for applicant screening and recruiting. Priebe once said, "Unless you’re allowed to find the most qualified people, it’s a literal misuse of tax money."
After working as the Director of the Civil Service Board, Priebe worked for then-Judge Mitch McConnell
as Jefferson County Personnel and Executive Council Agency Member-At-Large for the International Personnel Management Association.
Jeanette Brooks Priebe was born in Bolivar, Tennessee and attended Union University
in Jackson, Tennessee
before enrolling in Northwestern University
in Chicago, Illinois. She was the first woman to serve as the Director of the Civil Service Board in Louisville, Kentucky
.
Employment discrimination law in the United States
Affirmative Action
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
when she instituted the first affirmative action
Affirmative action
Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
hiring program for the Louisville metro area public service personnel
Jefferson County, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 693,604 people, 287,012 households, and 183,113 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 305,835 housing units at an average density of...
. During the 1970s, Priebe directed the integration of the Louisville Metro Police Department
Louisville Metro Police Department
The Louisville Metro Police Department began operations on January 6, 2003, as part of the creation of the consolidated city-county government in Louisville, Kentucky. It was formed by the merger of the Jefferson County Police Department and the Louisville Division of Police. The Louisville Metro...
and the Louisville Division of Fire
Louisville Division of Fire
The Louisville Division of Fire, commonly known as Louisville Fire Department or Louisville Fire & Rescue , is the sole fire suppression agency for the former city of Louisville, Kentucky and comprises one of 19 fire departments within Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky.The Louisville Fire...
.
Priebe led her department in devising a new method of hiring new applicants. Instead of receiving only the top candidates, the hiring department would be able to review all applicants, assuring then that all were considered – including African Americans and women. The new organizational process included a specific job classification system that took a year of intense analysis to complete. Four years before, these descriptions were vague, and a class action suit had been filed on behalf of the one African-American employee. The county government's Personnel Department became "more centralized and, more importantly, more professional." There were also new procedures for applicant screening and recruiting. Priebe once said, "Unless you’re allowed to find the most qualified people, it’s a literal misuse of tax money."
After working as the Director of the Civil Service Board, Priebe worked for then-Judge Mitch McConnell
Mitch McConnell
Addison Mitchell "Mitch" McConnell, Jr. is the senior United States Senator from Kentucky and the Republican Minority Leader.- Early life, education, and military service :...
as Jefferson County Personnel and Executive Council Agency Member-At-Large for the International Personnel Management Association.
Jeanette Brooks Priebe was born in Bolivar, Tennessee and attended Union University
Union University
Union University is a private, evangelical Christian, liberal arts university located in Jackson, Tennessee, with additional campuses in Germantown, Tennessee, and Hendersonville, Tennessee...
in Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson is a city in Madison County, Tennessee, United States. The total population was 65,211 at the 2010 census. Jackson is the primary city of the Jackson, Tennessee metropolitan area, which is included in the Jackson-Humboldt, Tennessee Combined Statistical Area...
before enrolling in Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
in Chicago, Illinois. She was the first woman to serve as the Director of the Civil Service Board in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
.
See also
Workplace discriminationEmployment discrimination law in the United States
Employment discrimination law in the United States
In the United States, employment discrimination is prohibited by a collection of state and federal laws, as well as by ordinances of counties and municipalities. Only discrimination based on certain characteristics is illegal....
Affirmative Action
Affirmative action
Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
Other Resources
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
- Kentucky Revised Statutes 344.040, "Discrimination by employers"
- "Kurtz, Priebe Win in IPMA Election," IPMA News, November 1980.
- Shafer, Sheldon. "Fiscal Court accepts nomination of Mrs. Priebe as personnel chief." The Courier Journal (Louisville), 17 March 1978. Print.