NCJ Number
83630
Date Published
Unknown
Length
0 pages
Annotation
The director of Federal liaison with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) explains the three stages of development in the concept of discrimination, based on past Supreme Court decisions.
Abstract
Prior to 1972, the EEOC could only use the voluntary compliance mechanism in discrimination cases. However, voluntary compliance failed because employers did not understand what employment practices were discriminatory. The Supreme Court up to this time had not developed a test for discrimination beyond a conception of it as a series of isolated events of ill-will and as a sign of unequal treatment. In the Griggs case of 1972, the Court developed another test for discrimination that was based on the statistical impact of particular employment practices. The court found that if business employment practices operate to exclude blacks (as determined by statistical analysis), these practices are discriminatory. Employers have the burden of proof to show that their employment tests are legal, that they reflect a statistical relationship between how well employees perform on the tests and how well they perform on the job. The tests must be job-related, and employers must demonstrate that alternative employment procedures are unavailable. The EEOC now has enforcement power in discrimination cases and jurisdiction over State and local government cases. To rectify past discrimination practices, the courts have recommended that businesses devise employment systems that operate to include minorities and that numerical remedies (quotas) be established. Questions and answers conclude the session.