Connecticut et al. v. Teal et al. (457 U.S. 440)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 21, 1982 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 457 U.S. 440 · 102 S. Ct. 2525
- Decided
- June 21, 1982
- Term
- October Term 1981
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority author
- Justice Brennan
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice Brennan delivered the opinion of the Court. We consider here whether an employer sued for violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 may assert a “bottom-line” theory of defense. Under that theory, as asserted in this case, an employer’s acts of racial discrimination in promotions — effected by an examination having disparate impact — would not render the employer liable for the racial discrimination suffered by employees barred from promotion if the “bottom-line” result of the promotional process was an appropriate racial balance. We hold that the “bottom line” does not preclude respondent employees from establishing a prima facie case, nor does it provide petitioner employer with a defense to such a case. I Four of the respondents, Winnie Teal, Rose Walker, Edith Latney, and Grace Clark, are black employees of the Department of Income Maintenance of the State of Connecticut. Each was promoted provisionally to the position of Welfare Eligibility Supervisor and served in that capacity for almost two years. To attain permanent status as supervisors, however, respondents had to participate in a selection process that required, as the first step, a passing score on a written examination. This written test was administered on December 2,1978, to 329 candidates. Of these candidates, 48 identified themselves as black and 259 identified themselves as white. The…
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