Opinion ID: 195936
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Disparate Impact Approach.

Text: 11 It has long been understood that discrimination, whether measured quantitatively or qualitatively, is not always a function of a pernicious motive or malign intent. Discrimination may also result from otherwise neutral policies and practices that, when actuated in real-life settings, operate to the distinct disadvantage of certain classes of individuals. See, e.g., John Hart Ely, Democracy and Distrust 84 (1980) (observing that technical enfranchisement, under certain conditions, has often fallen far short of actual enfranchisement). Within the world of Title VII, this understanding is reflected in the concept of disparate impact discrimination--a concept born of a perceived need to ensure that Title VII's proscriptive sweep encompasses not only overt discrimination but also practices that are fair in form, but discriminatory in operation. Griggs, 401 U.S. at 431, 91 S.Ct. at 853. Thus, the disparate impact approach roots out employment policies that are facially neutral in their treatment of different groups but that in fact fall more harshly on one group than another and cannot be justified by business necessity. International Bhd. of Teamsters v. United States, 431 U.S. 324, 335 n. 15, 97 S.Ct. 1843, 1854 n. 15, 52 L.Ed.2d 396 (1977); accord Watson v. Fort Worth Bank & Trust, 487 U.S. 977, 987, 108 S.Ct. 2777, 2785, 101 L.Ed.2d 827 (1988) (explaining that the necessary premise of the disparate impact approach is that some employment practices, adopted without a deliberately discriminatory motive, may in operation be functionally equivalent to intentional discrimination). Beyond this abecedarian premise, however, the nature and allocation of the relevant burdens of proof must be clearly understood. 5 12 Under the legal framework that applies in this case, see supra note 5, it is incumbent upon the plaintiff to demonstrate a prima facie case of discrimination. See Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody, 422 U.S. 405, 425, 95 S.Ct. 2362, 2375, 45 L.Ed.2d 280 (1975); McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 1824, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973); Johnson v. Allyn & Bacon, Inc., 731 F.2d 64, 69 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1018, 105 S.Ct. 433, 83 L.Ed.2d 359 (1984). In the disparate impact milieu, the prima facie case consists of three elements: identification, impact, and causation. First, the plaintiff must identify the challenged employment practice or policy, and pinpoint the defendant's use of it. See Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Atonio, 490 U.S. 642, 656, 109 S.Ct. 2115, 2124, 104 L.Ed.2d 733 (1989). 6 Second, the plaintiff must demonstrate a disparate impact on a group characteristic, such as race, that falls within the protective ambit of Title VII. See generally id. at 650-55, 109 S.Ct. at 2121-24. Third, the plaintiff must demonstrate a causal relationship between the identified practice and the disparate impact. See id. at 656-57, 109 S.Ct. at 2124-25; Watson, 487 U.S. at 994, 108 S.Ct. at 2788. 13 When the plaintiff rests, declaring herself satisfied that she has established a prima facie case of disparate impact discrimination, the ball bounces into the defendant's court. At that point, the defendant has several options. First, it may attack the plaintiff's proof head-on, debunking its sufficiency or attempting to rebut it by adducing countervailing evidence addressed to one or more of the three constituent strands from which the prima facie case is woven, see Dothard v. Rawlinson, 433 U.S. 321, 331, 97 S.Ct. 2720, 2728, 53 L.Ed.2d 786 (1977), asserting, say, that no identifiable policy exists, or that the policy's implementation produces no disparate impact, or that the plaintiff's empirical claims--such as the claim of causation--are insupportable. 14 Alternatively, the defendant may confess and avoid, acknowledging the legal sufficiency of the prima facie case but endeavoring to show either that the challenged practice is job-related and consistent with business necessity, see Griggs, 401 U.S. at 431, 91 S.Ct. at 853; see also Albemarle Paper, 422 U.S. at 425, 95 S.Ct. at 2375, or that it fits within one or more of the explicit statutory exceptions covering bona fide seniority systems, veterans' preferences, and the like. 7 See 42 U.S.C. Secs. 2000e-2(h), 2000e-11; see also 1 Charles A. Sullivan et al., Employment Discrimination Secs. 4.5-4.8 (2d ed. 1988). In all events, however, a defendant's good faith is not a defense to a disparate impact claim. See Griggs, 401 U.S. at 432, 91 S.Ct. at 854 (holding that good intent or absence of discriminatory intent does not redeem employment procedures or testing mechanisms that operate as 'built-in headwinds' for minority groups and are unrelated to measuring job capability). 15 If the defendant fails in its efforts to counter the plaintiff's prima facie case, then the factfinder is entitled--though not necessarily compelled, cf. St. Mary's Honor Ctr. v. Hicks, --- U.S. ----, ---- - ----, 113 S.Ct. 2742, 2748-50, 125 L.Ed.2d 407 (1993)--to enter judgment for the plaintiff. See, e.g., Cabrera v. Jakabovitz, 24 F.3d 372, 381 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 115 S.Ct. 205, 130 L.Ed.2d 135 (1994). On the other hand, even if the defendant stalemates the prima facie case by elucidating a legitimate, nondiscriminatory rationale for utilizing the challenged practice, the plaintiff may still prevail if she is able to establish that the professed rationale is pretextual. See Wards Cove, 490 U.S. at 658-59, 109 S.Ct. at 2125-26; Johnson, 731 F.2d at 69-70; see also McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. at 804, 93 S.Ct. at 1825. The plaintiff might demonstrate, for example, that some other practice, without a similarly undesirable side effect, was available and would have served the defendant's legitimate interest equally well. See Wards Cove, 490 U.S. at 660-61, 109 S.Ct. at 2126; Johnson, 731 F.2d at 69-71. Such an exhibition constitutes competent evidence that the defendant was using the interdicted practice merely as a 'pretext' for discrimination. Albemarle Paper, 422 U.S. at 425, 95 S.Ct. at 2375 (quoting McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. at 804-05, 93 S.Ct. at 1825-26). 16