Opinion ID: 164751
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Administration of the Test

Text: Sergeant Stahl also argues that the manner in which the County administered the fitness test constitutes evidence of pretext. Here, she focuses on the short period of time that she had to prepare for the test, arguing that the -12- officers who had served in the existing S.C.O.R.E. unit (all of whom were men) were allowed to train on the job for a period of years, while she received only two to three weeks formal notice of the test and thus had insufficient time to train. In considering this argument, we again note that Sergeant Stahl does not now argue that the test itself was in any manner discriminatory against women or that women as a class needed more time to train for it. 1 Accordingly, we presume that the test itself provided men and women with equal opportunities to pass it. Thus, the issue before us now is merely whether the County’s failing to grant Sergeant Stahl’s request for additional time to train for the test constitutes evidence of pretext. 1 Perhaps Sergeant Stahl could have made such an argument. See Aplt’s App. at 39 (Plaintiff’s Br. in Opposition to Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment, filed Nov. 18, 2002) (explaining the basis for Sergeant Stahl’s belief that the test was discriminatory and noting that “the requirements were heavily weighted in favor of upper-body strength tests” and that the test did not provide for alternative scoring in the elements of bench press, pull-ups, and push-ups); cf. Lanning v. S.E. Pa. Transp. Auth., 181 F.3d 478, 485 (3d Cir. 1999) (considering a gender discrimination challenge to a police department’s requirement that officers be able to run 1.5 miles in under 12 minutes and noting that the department conceded that the requirement had a disparate impact upon women); 29 C.F.R. § 1607 et seq (establishing guidelines for examination procedures in employment); § 1607.3 (stating that “[t]he use of any selection procedure which has an adverse impact on the hiring, promotion, or other employment or membership opportunities of members of any race, sex, or ethnic group will be considered to be discriminatory and inconsistent with these guidelines, unless the procedure has been validated in accordance with these guidelines”). The County did not indicate that it had consulted these guidelines; it might be prudent to do so. -13- Because Sergeant Stahl has not challenged the test itself, we agree with the district court’s analysis. The fact that officers in the existing S.C.O.R.E. unit were allowed to “train” on the job for an extended period while Sergeant Stahl was only allowed to do so when she made a request a few weeks before the fitness test resulted from bona fide differences in their job duties. Thus, as the district court explained, “the fact that [Sergeant Stahl] has not previously been required to participate in physical fitness training was by virtue of the unit to which she was assigned, not her gender.” Aplt’s App. at 129. Moreover, all of the officers in the Vice and Narcotics Unit in which Sergeant Stahl worked, both male and female, received the same notice of the fitness test and had the same opportunity to train for it. 2