Ricci v. Destefano

557 U.S. 557 (2009)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D like many cities, relies on objective examinations to identify the best-qualified candidates for promotions and leadership positions in its fire department. The promotion and hiring process was governed by the City charter, in addition to federal and state law. The charter establishes a merit system. That system requires D to fill vacancies in the classified civil-service ranks with the most qualified individuals, as determined by job-related examinations. After each examination, the New Haven Civil Service Board (CSB) certifies a ranked list of applicants who passed the test. Under the charter's 'rule of three,' the relevant hiring authority must fill each vacancy by choosing one candidate from the top three scorers on the list. Certified promotional lists remain valid for two years. The New Haven firefighters' union specifies additional requirements for the promotion process. Under the contract, applicants for lieutenant and captain positions were to be screened using written and oral examinations, with the written exam accounting for 60 percent and the oral exam 40 percent of an applicant's total score. To sit for the examinations, candidates for lieutenant needed 30 months' experience in the Department, a high school diploma, and certain vocational training courses. Candidates for captain needed one year's service as a lieutenant in the Department, a high school diploma, and certain vocational training courses. D hired Industrial/Organizational Solutions, Inc. (IOS), to develop and administer the examinations, at a cost to the City of $100,000. IOS specializes in designing entry-level and promotional examinations for fire and police departments. IOS began the test-design process by performing job analyses to identify the tasks, knowledge, skills, and abilities that are essential for the lieutenant and captain positions. IOS representatives interviewed incumbent captains and lieutenants and their supervisors. They rode with and observed other on-duty officers. Using information from those interviews and ride-alongs, IOS wrote job-analysis questionnaires and administered them to most of the incumbent battalion chiefs, captains, and lieutenants in the Department. At every stage of the job analyses, IOS, by deliberate choice, oversampled minority firefighters to ensure that the results--which IOS would use to develop the examinations--would not unintentionally favor white candidates. IOS developed written examinations to measure the candidates' job-related knowledge. For each test, IOS compiled a list of training manuals, Department procedures, and other materials to use as sources for the test questions. IOS presented the proposed sources to the New Haven fire chief and assistant fire chief for their approval. Then, using the approved sources, IOS drafted a multiple-choice test for each position. Each test had 100 questions, as required by CSB rules, and was written below a 10th-grade reading level. After IOS prepared the tests, the City opened a 3-month study period. It gave candidates a list that identified the source material for the questions, including the specific chapters from which the questions were taken. IOS developed oral examinations as well. These concentrated on job skills and abilities. Using the job-analysis information, IOS wrote hypothetical situations to test incident-command skills, firefighting tactics, interpersonal skills, leadership, and management ability, among other things. Candidates would be presented with these hypotheticals and asked to respond before a panel of three assessors. IOS assembled a pool of 30 assessors who were superior in rank to the positions being tested. All the assessors came from outside Connecticut. IOS submitted the assessors' resumes to City officials for approval. They were battalion chiefs, assistant chiefs, and chiefs from departments of similar sizes to New Haven's throughout the country. Sixty-six percent of the panelists were minorities, and each of the nine three-member assessment panels contained two minority members. IOS trained the panelists for several hours on the day before it administered the examinations, teaching them how to score the candidates' responses consistently using checklists of desired criteria. In 2003, 118 firefighters took examinations to qualify for promotion to the rank of lieutenant or captain. The results would determine which firefighters would be considered for promotions during the next two years, and the order in which they would be considered. Many firefighters studied for months, at considerable personal and financial cost. The results showed that white candidates outperformed minority candidates. Of 8 lieutenant positions, the top 10 candidates were white. Nine candidates were eligible for immediate promotion to captain--7 whites and 2 Hispanics. The fireworks began almost immediately. Some firefighters argued the tests should be discarded because the results showed the tests to be discriminatory. They threatened a discrimination lawsuit if the City made promotions based on the tests. Ps said the exams were neutral and fair. And they, in turn, threatened a discrimination lawsuit if D relied on the statistical racial disparity, ignored the test results, and denied promotions to the candidates who had performed well. D took the side of those who protested the test results. It threw out the examinations. Ps sued Ds. Ps alleged that, by discarding the test results, Ds discriminated against Ps based on their race, in violation of both Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Ds argued that if they had certified the results, they could have faced liability under Title VII for adopting a practice that had a disparate impact on the minority firefighters. The District Court granted summary judgment to Ds, and the Court of Appeals affirmed. Ps appealed.