The US Department of Justice has agreed to pay US$22.6 million (S$29.1 million) to settle a lawsuit by 34 women who claim they were wrongly dismissed from the FBI's agent training academy because of their sex, according to a court filing on Monday (Sept 30).

The settlement, which must be approved by a federal judge in Washington, would resolve a 2019 class action claiming the FBI, which is part of the Justice Department, had a widespread practise of forcing out female trainees.

The plaintiffs say that they were found unsuitable to graduate from the training academy even though they performed as well as, or better than, many male trainees on academic, physical fitness, and firearms tests. Some of them also say they were subjected to sexual harassment and sexist jokes and comments.

Along with the payout, the proposed settlement would allow eligible class members to seek reinstatement to the agent training programme and require the FBI to hire outside experts to ensure that its evaluation process for trainees is fair.

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