Opinion ID: 672341
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Effect on third parties

Text: 54 Finally, the third inquiry undertaken to determine the propriety of race-conscious relief under the second prong of the strict scrutiny analysis is to ascertain whether the impact of the relief upon third parties is unduly burdensome. Wygant, 476 U.S. at 281-83, 106 S.Ct. at 1850-52 (opinion of Powell, J.); Fullilove, 448 U.S. at 484, 100 S.Ct. at 2777-79 (plurality opinion). No constitutional defect necessarily arises from the disappointment of non-minorities asked to share the burden in curing the effects of prior discrimination. Fullilove, 448 U.S. at 484, 100 S.Ct. at 2778. For example, in Fullilove, the statute at issue mandated a 10% MBE set-aside. The Court upheld this requirement in part because the actual 'burden' shouldered by non-minority firms [was] relatively light. Id. Critical to the analysis of the appropriate burden to be shouldered by non-minorities is the extent to which the relief disrupts settled rights and expectations. Wygant, 476 U.S. at 283, 106 S.Ct. at 1851. As elaborated by the Court in Wygant: 55 In cases involving valid hiring goals, the burden to be borne by innocent individuals is diffused to a considerable extent among society generally. Though hiring goals may burden some innocent individuals, they simply do not impose the same kind of injury that layoffs impose. Denial of a future employment opportunity as not as intrusive as loss of an existing job. 56 476 U.S. at 282-83, 106 S.Ct. at 1851 (opinion of Powell, J.) (emphasis in original). 26 See Jansen v. City of Cincinnati, 977 F.2d 238, 242 (6th Cir.1992), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 113 S.Ct. 2344, 124 L.Ed.2d 254 (1993) ( 'although initial employment opportunities coupled with hiring goals may burden some innocent individuals, they do not impose the same type of intrusive injuries that layoffs, which result in loss of job expectancy, security, and seniority, involve' ) (quoting Long v. City of Saginaw, 911 F.2d 1192, 1196-97 (6th Cir.1990)). The district court found that the Plan did not require layoffs and did not pose an absolute bar to the hiring of non-minorities. Thus, disappointed non-minority applicants under this Plan shoulder a type of diffuse burden similar to that approved in Fullilove and Wygant. 57 Further, the study conducted by the Human Services Institute on behalf of Metro Dade confirmed prior suspicions that the written firefighter test had an adverse impact upon minorities and that the test was not a valid predictor of subsequent job performance. Specifically, 85% of white males taking the examination passed, as compared with 23% of Hispanic males. 27 Given the test's unreliability and its adverse impact on minorities, we cannot say that Peightal should be entitled to relief based upon the rigid rank-ordering produced from such a flawed examination or that Metro Dade's departure from these rankings placed an undue onus upon Peightal. From the foregoing, we hold that the Plan did not unduly burden non-minority applicants. 58 Having analyzed Metro Dade's consideration and implementation of alternative remedies, the relationship between the remedy and prior discrimination, and the impact of the Plan upon third parties, we conclude that the Plan is narrowly tailored.