Constitutional Law

Group Urges High Court To Review Case On Discriminatory Use of Employment Exams

The NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc. (LDF) is taking on a deepened split within the federal appeals court circuits over limits on legal challenges to discriminatory use of civil service exams for employment purposes. LDF has asked the Supreme Court to review Lewis v. City of Chicago, where the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals nullified a lower court ruling that found that the City of Chicago illegally used an exam process to hire white applicants over black applicants by a five-to-one ratio. The lower federal court found that Chicago officials had violated the civil rights of more than 6,000 black firefighter applicants.

The 7th Circuit, however, overturned that ruling, claiming that applicants had waited too to challenge the city’s discriminatory use of the exam. LDF notes that five federal circuits – 2nd, 5th, 9th, 11th and the D.C. Circuits – have ruled that legal challenges are viable each time an employer uses exam results in a discriminatory manner and three Circuits – 3rd, 6th and 7th – have concluded such lawsuits are only viable shortly after exam results are announced.

In its cert petition, LDF argues that, “This legal distinction is of enormous practical importance, effectively determining whether an employer may indefinitely follow a discriminatory employment practice if affected employees or applicants fail to object to the initial promulgation of the procedure within the brief Title VII [of the Civil Rights Act of 1964] limitations period. The use of employment practices such as the hiring procedure at issue here is widespread – and is in fact required by state or local law for many public employers across the country – making the need for a nationally uniform claims-accrual rule paramount.”

Last week, President Obama signed into the law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, which overturned a 2007 Supreme Court decision that limited an employee’s ability to sue an employer over pay discrimination. The Fair Pay Act extends the time frame for workers to file lawsuits challenging discriminatory pay.

Full post as published by ACS Blog on February 04, 2009 (boomark / email).