A judge has ruled that the largely white Fire Department of New York used recruitment exams that discriminate against blacks and Hispanics.

Brooklyn federal judge Nicholas Garaufis ruled against New York City on Wednesday.  He said he must consider remedies to end the discrimination which occurred in written exams given to thousands of firefighter candidates from 1999 to 2007.

The ruling came after the U.S. Department of Justice joined the Vulcan Society, a fraternal order of black firefighters, in a lawsuit against the city and its fire department.

Of roughly 11,000 firefighters in the city, only about 3 percent are black and 4.5 percent are Hispanic.

In the New York Police Department, more than 16 percent are black and more than 25 percent are Hispanic.