For those of you who didn't hear yesterday, the high court ruled in favor of the white and hispanic firefighters that were denied promotions because no black firefighters passed the "promotion test". Apparently, there's a test that firefighters are given to determine who gets promoted and who doesn't. It just so happened that this last time around, no black firefighters passed (but some white and hispanics did).
The town of New Haven, Ct. was so worried about getting sued by the black firefighters that they decided to throw out all of the results, and thus not promote anyone.
Even though I am super-glad that the supreme court decided in favor of those firefighters who deservedly passed (saying the town of New Haven discriminated against them), I cannot believe how close the margin was. It passed by the slimmest possible -- 5 to 4. I would like to ask the four judges who voted against this a question: if your house is on fire, wouldn't you want the most qualified person to come to your aid regardless of whether or not they are black, white, purple, or polka-dot?
I was listening to NPR yesterday and heard that one of the white firefighters who passed the test was dyslexic and had spent months studying with flash cards and even got a tutor to help him overcome his obvious disadvantage as a test-taker. Seems like this guy could have easily NOT passed the test and then sued the town saying that the test discriminated against dyslexic firefighters...
I'm so glad he didn't.
2 comments:
you didn't say, "can i get an amen," but i'm giving you one anyway.....
AMEN!
I don't know; I'm torn on this case. Adverse impact is an important factor to consider, but should it be preserved in this case???
Post a Comment