The Supreme Court's landmark Ricci v. DeStefano ruling appears to have provided some much-needed clarity for hiring and promoting within businesses. The Court ruled in favor of white New Haven, Conn., firefighters who had challenged the city's decision to reject the results of a promotion exam after no African-Americans scored well enough to advance. The Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling found that such unbiased tests are valid for making employment decisions. Labor and employment attorney Mark Shank of Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail predicts the ruling will lead to an increased use of such exams in the business world.

The ruling centers on theTitle VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. The marority also ruled that the city had failed to demonstrate its primary argument for invalidating the test — that certifying the results would result in unintentional injury to minority firefighters. "This ruling removes a level of risk for companies and public agencies that use standardized tests in performance evaluations or hiring practices, and will likely reduce litigation for employers that stay within the opinion's boundaries," says Shank.

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the majority opinion: "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." Meanwhile, writing in dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said the white firefighters "understandably attract this court's sympathy. But they had no vested right to promotion. Nor have other persons received promotions in preference to them." To interview Mr. Shank on employment matters, contact Barry Pound at 800-559-4534 or barry@androvett.com.