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Supreme Court Rules for New Haven Firefighters
9-1-1 in the News, Trends | Greg | July 2, 2009 at 9:21 am
In a decision that could have sweeping impact on employers across the nation, the Supreme Court ruled that white and Hispanic firefighters in New Haven, Conn., were unfairly denied promotions because of their race, reversing a decision that Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor endorsed as an appeals court judge.
Splitting down ideological lines, the court ruled 5-4 that New Haven violated a landmark civil rights law when the city threw out the results of a promotions exam after it was determined that none of the black firefighters who took the test scored well enough to be promoted.
The court’s decision will make it harder for employees to sue if they believe employers have made decisions that have a discriminatory impact on them, but are in other respects race-neutral and fair on their face — as the Court said these promotions exams were.
Tags: Legal
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