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SC Overturns Sotomayor's Decision and Rules in Favor of White Firefighters

June 29, 2009

The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision which overturned a Sotomayor ruling, said that it was wrong to deny promotions to white firefighters who outscored black colleagues on a promotional test.

The white firefighters in New Haven, Connecticut were ruled to have been victims of illegal racial discrimination. Justice Anthony Kennedy said that the test was valid and geared to the skills and knowledge needed by firefighters.

He stated that, "No individual should face workplace discrimination based on race," The 2003 test results were set aside because there would be no black firefighters were among the top scorers, who would therefore be eligible for a promotion to lieutenant or captain.

According to him, the decision is intended to clarify the federal job-discrimination laws for employers, both private and public to remove race as a factor in hiring and promotions which was primarily the goal of the Civil Rights Act.

The decision overturned Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's decision as well as two other judges from New York’s Court of Appeals.

Kennedy further said that the city officials had no "strong basis" for believing the test was flawed and unfair and that the city was not entitled to disregard the tests based solely on the racial disparity in the results. New Haven officials also need not fear a "disparate impact" lawsuit from black firefighters because their promotional test was fair and job-related.

However, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, said that the white firefighters had no vested right to a promotion, and no person has received a promotion in preference to them. She also said that the court ignored the history of discrimination against blacks in the New Haven Fire Department.

The SC however, still maintains that it is unconstitutional for public employers ever to consider the racial makeup of their workforce. Neither does it strike down the Civil Rights Act section which says employers should avoid job standards and tests that have a "disparate impact" on minorities.