Supreme Court Ruling in Ricci v. DeStefano Extremely Disappointing; Asian American Organizations Encourage President Obama to Issue Guidance to Employers to Ensure Equality 

Washington, D.C– The Asian American Justice Center (AAJC) and its affiliates–the Asian American Institute of Chicago, Ill., Asian Law Caucus of San Francisco, Calif. and Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Los Angeles, Calif.–express disappointment with the United States Supreme Court’s decision in the matter of Ricci v. DeStefano, which imposes a new standard on employers. The basis of the case is the City of New Haven’s decision to refuse certification of the results of a firefighter’s promotion test upon discovering that the test was likely discriminatory. AAJC, its affiliates and eight other organizations filed a friend of the court brief in March in support of DeStefano and the City of New Haven.

In a 5-4 decision written by Justice Kennedy, the Supreme Court stated that the City of New Haven lacked sufficient evidence in deciding that the firefighter’s promotion test was discriminatory in operation, despite strong statistical evidence that showed no African American firefighters were able to pass the test and that only one Hispanic firefighter passed. In deciding not to certify the promotion test results, the City of New Haven sought to voluntarily comply with federal equal employment opportunity law (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1991).

The Court’s decision will force certification of test results that do not comply with federal guidelines, and will further undermine equal opportunity for Asian Americans and all minorities. 

“We are disappointed with the ruling in this case and with the Court’s announcement of a new standard of employment discrimination,” said Vincent A. Eng, deputy director of AAJC. “But we are heartened to know that a majority of Supreme Court Justices understand that discrimination remains a serious problem in our society and that employers and the government have a responsibility to proactively take steps to fix it.” 

As Justice Ginsburg made clear in her dissenting opinion, the law still requires employers to avoid policies that are discriminatory in practice and no one has a right to be hired under a flawed selection process. 

Aarathi D. Haig, equal opportunity staff attorney at AAJC, added, “There are a number of steps that employers can take to make sure they are avoiding discrimination in the workplace. For example, they should closely examine their selection procedures for effectiveness and fairness before actually using them.”