Title VII and Disparate-Treatment Discrimination Versus Disparate-Impact Discrimination

Abstract

In June 2009, the Supreme Court decided the employment discrimination case of Ricci v. DeStefano . In a 5-4 decision, the Court held that the City of New Haven, Connecticut, discriminated against White and Hispanic firefighters based on their race in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, when it refused to certify exam results that could have resulted in promotions for the firefighters. The case attempted to clarify what the Court saw as a conflict between two provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act— disparate-treatment discrimination and disparate-impact discrimination. Unfortunately, the Court’s decision and reasoning may cause even more confusion and questions in the area of employment discrimination leaving both public and private employers to ask themselves difficult questions regarding their employment practices and procedure.