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Supreme Court: New Haven Firefighters Win Discrimination Appeal

by Tina Kells | June 29, 2009 at 09:27 am

327 views | 14 Recommendations | 3 comments

The US Supreme Court has ruled 5-4 in favor of a New Haven firefighters appeal of a case that alleged reverse discrimination in promotion policy within the city.

The city of New Haven, Connecticut, had arbitrarily thrown out firefighter promotion exam results when only one minority was able to pass them. A group of 20 New Haven firefighters called the move reverse discrimination and took it to court where they lost.

The 20 New Haven firefighters then appealed the lower state court ruling to the federal appeals court. The federal appeal case was heard by Judge Sonia Sotomayor who upheld the previous court ruling and sided with the city.

The Supreme Court was then asked to overturn Judge Sotomayor's appeal decision. Judge Sonia Sotomayor is nominated for a seat on the US Supreme Court which drew extra attention to the firefighters' discrimination case.

The central question the US Supreme Court was asked to consider was whether or not US society had yet progressed to the point that the type of racial protection exercised by New Haven was no longer necessary.

In its decision the Supreme Court voted 5-4 that US culture had progressed and that arbitrary moves like that taken in New Haven were no longer necessary.

The case has been touted as a white-firefighters-verses-minority-firefighters lawsuit, but in fact, not all of the 20 firefighters who launched the lawsuit were white. While most of the 20 firefighters are white, a few were minorities who felt that in setting aside the test results New Haven hurt them as well.

High court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor heard the case on her federal appeals court last year and sided with the city.

The Supreme Court was being asked to decide whether there was a continued need for special treatment for minorities, or whether enough progress has been made to make existing laws obsolete, especially in a political atmosphere in which an African-American occupies the White House.

"Fear of litigation alone cannot justify an employer's reliance on race to the detriment of individuals who passed the examinations and qualified for promotions," wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy for the majority.

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Rhonda J Mangus

at 09:34 on June 29th, 2009

Excellent news, Tina! Thanks for posting!

Roy C

at 15:22 on June 29th, 2009

It was actually a complicated decision.

The municipality felt that if there were not enough minority firefighters who scored high enough on the tests, then according to existing civil rights legislation, the city could be sued.

It was out of this that the city didn't promote the firefighters. But, this Title VIII (or was it Title IX ?) section that creates concern in the employer who fears being accused of discrimination, that will now be seen differently.

It is my impression that the law in question was not ruled to be unconstitutional.

But, the effect will be to diminish affirmative action programs being run in the knee-jerk way that this one was.

We have some very strange aspects to the Affirmative Action policies.

For example, you could migrate to the US from a foreign country, such as Brazil or Spain, be from an upper class family and well-educated, yet Affirmative Action will grant you more points in being hired and promoted, as if you, a non-American, had faced "discrimination" in the past because of your Latin last name, even though you were not here..