NCJ Number
138662
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 61 Issue: 9 Dated: (September 1992) Pages: 25-32
Date Published
1992
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This article reviews three hypothetical but realistic cases of police personnel decisions and interprets them in the context of the Civil Rights Act of 1991.
Abstract
The Civil Rights Act of 1991, signed into law by President Bush on November 21, 1991, amends prior employment discrimination law and effectively overrules judicial interpretation of some key provisions of previous legislation. The act clarifies the sort of conduct that constitutes intentional employment discrimination and presents, with the provision of new remedies and reallocation of burdens of proof, new challenges to employers who litigate claims of employment discrimination. In the first hypothetical case, the police manager sought to implement a sex-equalized physical performance test as part of the department's hiring process. Such a provision violates the 1991 Civil Rights Act's prohibition of "norming" employment standards. In the second case, a manager took race into consideration when deciding between two equally qualified candidates for promotion. Under the 1991 Civil Rights Act, such consideration is not lawful in the absence of an "affirmative action" justification that satisfies that exception's strict requirements. In the third case, a department adopted a college degree requirement for newly hired police officers. Because statistics indicate such a standard impacts disparately on certain minorities, this department should carefully assess the business necessity of this new employment standard. 39 notes