The fire department was left in an impossible situation. They took action to satisfy what they perceived as a legal requirement, and then suit was brought based on the action they took to satisfy the law.
They are darned if they do and darned if they don’t.
Oh well, should at least give the Glenn Beckers fuel for the fire. This is the case Sotomayor ruled on which according to the right-wingers shows how she is a racist and shouldn’t be on the court. The Supreme Court, of course, which can never be accused of racism given its diverse makeup of… caucasian men (except for Sotomayor, once Ginsburg retires).
So people can pass this test only if they are caucasian? If you are black you cannot pass the written portion but if you are causasian you can? How does that work? Would you not all study the same course material? In my opinion no one should get anything special and all should be considered equal. So, study and pass the test everyone has to take. How can a white person and a black person study the same material, take the same test and then the test is unfair? Sounds like someone did not study or can’t write.
And the reason this black genius can’t handle the written portion is? Promotions generally require BOTH oral and written skills and abilities. Maybe they should just put pictures on the promotion exams and make it multiple choice.
The black firefighter’s position is really that blacks cannot read and write as well as whites? That by itself is a racist statement on HIS part, making a distinction that should not exist if, as they pose, there is no difference in ability to learn.
BTW, I believe there IS no difference in ability to learn between the races. If there is different scholastic performance it is tracable to social and cultural differences.
It was a catch 22 because, based on accusations of prejudice, the fire house felt they had to respond. However their response was also met with accusations of prejudice. Thus darned if they do, darned if they don’t.
I would think the fire house could care less and were just trying to keep from getting sued, which they then were (repeatedly).
It is an interesting case; I enjoyed reading this decision back during the Sotomayor Senate confirmation hearing.
Can someone explain why this black genius can’t handle the written portion? Getting promoted often involves written issues so testing for it is legit. Maybe they should just put pictures on the test and make it multiple choice so
In the New Haven case, 118 people took the promotion test. None of the African-American candidates scored high enough to be promoted. Only 2 of 29 Hispanics qualified.
Lawsuits have been successful in the past based on the claim that the test is not truly job-related and that the test has a “disparate impact” affecting one racial group over others.
This is a very tough case. How do you abide by Title VII ? The minority fire fighters had a potentially valid complaint– a job selection based on a test claimed to have disparate impact– however the majority fire fighters also had a valid complaint– the trashing of test results which they worked hard to obtain.
Agree with the law and precedent or not, one can easily see that the fire department was put between a rock and a hard place.
We have updated our privacy policy to be more clear and meet the new requirements of the GDPR. By continuing to use our site, you accept our revised Privacy Policy.
The fire department was left in an impossible situation. They took action to satisfy what they perceived as a legal requirement, and then suit was brought based on the action they took to satisfy the law.
They are darned if they do and darned if they don’t.
Oh well, should at least give the Glenn Beckers fuel for the fire. This is the case Sotomayor ruled on which according to the right-wingers shows how she is a racist and shouldn’t be on the court. The Supreme Court, of course, which can never be accused of racism given its diverse makeup of… caucasian men (except for Sotomayor, once Ginsburg retires).
Matt,
Ever heard of Clerance Thomas?
Here’s an idea for the firefighter, pass the test. Really, I don’t see how he can’t learn the correct answers.
So people can pass this test only if they are caucasian? If you are black you cannot pass the written portion but if you are causasian you can? How does that work? Would you not all study the same course material? In my opinion no one should get anything special and all should be considered equal. So, study and pass the test everyone has to take. How can a white person and a black person study the same material, take the same test and then the test is unfair? Sounds like someone did not study or can’t write.
And the reason this black genius can’t handle the written portion is? Promotions generally require BOTH oral and written skills and abilities. Maybe they should just put pictures on the promotion exams and make it multiple choice.
The black firefighter’s position is really that blacks cannot read and write as well as whites? That by itself is a racist statement on HIS part, making a distinction that should not exist if, as they pose, there is no difference in ability to learn.
BTW, I believe there IS no difference in ability to learn between the races. If there is different scholastic performance it is tracable to social and cultural differences.
It was a catch 22 because, based on accusations of prejudice, the fire house felt they had to respond. However their response was also met with accusations of prejudice. Thus darned if they do, darned if they don’t.
I would think the fire house could care less and were just trying to keep from getting sued, which they then were (repeatedly).
It is an interesting case; I enjoyed reading this decision back during the Sotomayor Senate confirmation hearing.
Can someone explain why this black genius can’t handle the written portion? Getting promoted often involves written issues so testing for it is legit. Maybe they should just put pictures on the test and make it multiple choice so
How does the test know the race of the test-taker?
So is they plaintiff saying that the test is skewed towards smart people or white people? Or is he saying that they are one and the same?
I say nationalize all fire departments, and if you don’t like that idea you’re a racist Mbama hater!
What I wanna know is, how would a Wise Latina do on this test?
In the New Haven case, 118 people took the promotion test. None of the African-American candidates scored high enough to be promoted. Only 2 of 29 Hispanics qualified.
Lawsuits have been successful in the past based on the claim that the test is not truly job-related and that the test has a “disparate impact” affecting one racial group over others.
This is a very tough case. How do you abide by Title VII ? The minority fire fighters had a potentially valid complaint– a job selection based on a test claimed to have disparate impact– however the majority fire fighters also had a valid complaint– the trashing of test results which they worked hard to obtain.
Agree with the law and precedent or not, one can easily see that the fire department was put between a rock and a hard place.