Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water…
A black firefighter in New Haven, Connecticut, said the scoring on the promotions test (the same one at issue in Ricci v. DeStefano) was unfair. (Source)
As you may recall, the city of New Haven threw out the results of a promotions test because no blacks scored high enough to qualify. The city claimed that had it certified the test results, black firefighters likely would have sued under the disparate impact theory. In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled against the city, holding that New Haven violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act when it discarded the results.
New Haven’s disparate impact lawsuit fear is confirmed. Michael Briscoe is suing city hall, claiming the test had a disparate impact on blacks. He contends that giving more weight to the written part of the test over the oral is a disadvantage to blacks. The written portion of the test is weighted 60 percent; the oral 40 percent. Briscoe scored higher on the oral than any other test taker. Good for him, but he scored too low on the written portion.
“Had the ratio of the sections been switched, Briscoe would have been one of the top candidates, according to the lawsuit.”
But the ratio hadn’t been switched. Briscoe loses.
Speaking only for myself, personally, me, and no one else, such a suit is embarrassing, as was the previous suit before the Supreme Court. Never would I claim, implicitly or explicitly, that blacks shouldn’t be expected to score well on written civil service tests or held to the same standard as everyone else. Call it pride.
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