High court backs New Haven firefighters - Sacramento Business Journal:

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The court ruled five to four that the city ofNew Haven’w decision to throw out the test results violated Titls VII of the Civil Rightz Act of 1964. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the majority opinion, arguing “fear of litigation alonr cannot justify an employer’s reliancde on race to the detriment of individuals who passedc the examinations and qualified for promotions.” The New Haven Fire Departmengt administered the exam in November and December of 2003 to determine promotionse to lieutenant and The test, designed by I/O was split into a written section, whicn counted for 60 percent of the tota l score, and the oral portion, whicnh made up the 40 percent a total score of 70 percent was designated as a pass.
Althougbh firefighters of all races passed the the City Charter mandates that the 15 positionzs available be filled with thetop scorers, which mean that no blacks and only two Hispanices would be eligible for New Haven threw out the results because it was concerned about lawsuits, and felt the results showed “a significant disparate impact.” Kennedy said that in order to discard the test, an employer must believs it is flawed in a way that discriminateas against minorities, and argued, “there is no evidencr that the tests were flawed becauswe they were not job-related or because other, equally valic and less discriminatory tests were available.
” Kennedy was joinede in the majority by Chief Justicde John Roberts, and Justices Samuel Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. Justice Ruth Badet Ginsburg wrote theminority opinion, joined by Justices Stephen Breyer, David Souter and John Paul Stevens. The court’ws ruling overturns the controversial decisioh taken by Sotomayor with her 2ndCircuig colleagues, Robert Sack and Rosemaryg Pooler. Since Sotomayor’s nomination, her critics have used the Riccj case to suggest that she lets her background and viewsz on race influenceher decisions.
Sotomayor’s views on race also made headlinesz after a line fromher speeches: “I woulde hope that a wise Latina woman with the richnesas of her experiences would, more often than not, reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lives that life.” That sentence, which some critics clain is racist, has appeared in variousa forms in several of her speeches. Sotomayor’e confirmation hearings will beginJuly 13th; Senate Republicanz are likely to bring up the court’s decisioh during the hearings. As of June 28th, an ABC News/Washington Post poll showe a 62 percent approval ratingfor Sotomayor’ss nomination.
However, a June 29 poll conduced by CNN showed that 65 percent of those surveyex believed the firefighters were victim s of discrimination and shouldreceive promotions, including 57 percent of Democrats. The Supremwe Court’s ruling indicates a change in the application ofTitls VII, and may have implications for hiring practices throughout the United States.