Employers should interpret this ruling as even greater reason to avoid practices that may discriminate on the basis of race, gender, national origin, disability, age or any other protected characteristic. For many years, testers have been allowed to sue in cases brought under the Fair Housing Act. For instance, a lawsuit might arise if an African American tester was falsely informed that a vacant apartment was unavailable though a white tester was allowed to rent the same apartment. Until this ruling, however, testers were not allowed to sue under the federal employment laws. This is because, in theory, the testers did not want the position at issue and thus were not deprived of any employment opportunity.
Employers can expect testing to spread throughout the country as a result of the ruling.