Lopez v. Pacific Maritime Ass’n, 636 F.3d 1197 (2011) When Santiago Lopez first applied to be a longshoreman in 1997, his application was rejected because he tested positive for marijuana. The PMA, which represents the shipping lines, stevedore companies and terminal operators that run the ports along the west coast, follows a “one-strike rule,” which… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Disparate Impact
Sales Reps Could Proceed With Breach Of Contract And Age Discrimination Claims
Posted in Discrimination, Employment Law Notes, RetaliationMcCaskey v. California State Auto. Ass’n, 189 Cal.App.4th 947 (2010) Charles Luke, Francis McCaskey and John Mellen filed this lawsuit against CSAA, alleging breach of contract and age discrimination. The contract claim was based on an alleged breach by CSAA of a promise to permit senior sales agents to continue in their employ under relaxed… Continue Reading
Fire Dep’t Applicants’ Title VII Challenge Was Not Barred By Statute Of Limitations
Posted in Employment Law NotesLewis v. City of Chicago, 560 U.S. ___, 130 S. Ct. 2191 (2010) Plaintiffs in this case (more than 6,000 African-Americans) had applied to serve in the Chicago Fire Department. They challenged as discriminatory the city’s decision to hire only applicants who had scored 89 or above on a written examination. The city stipulated that… Continue Reading
City Violated Title VII By Discarding Results Of Test That Disparately Impacted Minorities
Posted in Affirmative Action, Discrimination, Employment Law Notes, Supreme CourtRicci v. DeStefano, 557 U.S. 557, 129 S.Ct. 2658 (2009) One hundred eighteen firefighters took written examinations administered by the city of New Haven, Connecticut in order to qualify for promotion to the rank of lieutenant or captain. When the examination results showed that white candidates had outperformed minority candidates, the mayor and other local… Continue Reading
Supreme Court Rules Against the City of New Haven in Highly Publicized Reverse Discrimination Case: What Does Ricci vs. DeStefano Mean For Employers?
Posted in Affirmative Action, Client Alerts, Discrimination, Supreme CourtYesterday, in a highly anticipated 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Ricci v. DeStefano that the City of New Haven engaged in unlawful intentional race discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) when it discarded a firefighter promotional test because of the racial makeup of… Continue Reading
Disparate Impact Theory Of Liability Available To Age Discrimination Plaintiffs
Posted in Employment Law NotesSmith v. City of Jackson, 544 U.S. 228, 125 S. Ct. 1536 (2005) A group of police officers older than 40 challenged the decision of the City of Jackson, Mississippi to raise the starting salaries of officers with less than five years of seniority in order to bring starting salaries up to the regional average…. Continue Reading