U.S. Supreme Court Rules that Employers Can be Held Liable for Each Use of Results of a Discriminatory Test
May 25, 2010
On May 24, 2010, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Lewis v. City of Chicago, ruling that employers can be held liable each time they use the results of a discriminatory test.
Between 1996 and 2002, the city of Chicago relied on the results of a test that disproportionately excluded African-American applicants for firefighter positions. The city relied on the test results to hire eleven disproportionately white firefighter classes. The Lewis plaintiffs filed their charges of discrimination when the city made hiring decisions on the basis of the discriminatory test. The city argued that the Title VII claims were time-barred because the claims were not filed within 300 days after the city first announced its hiring plan. The Court rejected the city's argument and concluded that the plaintiffs' claims were timely.
Click here for the Supreme Court's decision.
Click here for the amicus brief that the Lawyers' Committee filed with the National Partnership for Women and Families and the National Women's Law Center.
