Supreme Court Sides With Firefighters In Race Case

(Published June 29, 2009

 

On June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court decided 5-4 that the city of New Haven, CT, violated Title VII when it discarded the results of promotion tests on which white candidates had outperformed minority candidates. 

 

Some white and Hispanic firefighters who likely would have been promoted based on their good test performance sued the city, alleging that they were discriminated against based on their race.  The city argued that if it had certified the test, it could have faced a Title VII-disparate impact lawsuit from the minority firefighters.  Said the Court: "Fear of litigation alone cannot justify the city's reliance on race to the detriment of individuals who passed the examinations and qualified for promotions."

 

The Supreme Court held that the city did not have a "strong basis in evidence to believe" it would be subject to disparate-impact liability if it failed to take the race-based discriminatory action.  Reason: The city could be liable for disparate-impact discrimination only if the exams at issue were not job-related and consistent with business necessity, or if there existed an equally valid, less discriminatory alternative that served the city's needs but that the city refused to adopt.  The High Court found no substantial basis in evidence that the test was deficient in either respect.

 

The Court went on to say that, in light of this ruling, if, after the city certifies the test results, it faces a disparate-impact lawsuit, it can avoid liability based on "the strong basis in evidence that, had it not certified the results, it would have been subject to disparate-treatment liability."

 

Ricci v. DeStefano, Nos. 07-1428, 08-328, 2009