Opinion ID: 672341
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The relevant population

Text: 29 Upon a determination that the position is entry-level, requiring no special qualifications, the next inquiry is the racial composition of the relevant population for purposes of statistical comparison. We remanded this case for further refinement of the relevant population, noting the relative undesirability of general population figures. Peightal, 940 F.2d at 1412 (Tjoflat, J., concurring and dissenting) (General population figures ... only serve as a proxy for the qualified applicant pool from which the employer is hiring). Although the Court in Teamsters upheld the use of general population figures as opposed to a more particularized assessment of the qualified applicant pool, in that case, significant anecdotal evidence of discrimination bolstered the statistics in question. International Bhd. of Teamsters v. United States, 431 U.S. 324, 339, 97 S.Ct. 1843, 1856, 52 L.Ed.2d 396 (1977). 14 The Court in Teamsters cautioned that where the evidence show[s] that the figures for the general population might not accurately reflect the pool of qualified applicants, this may diminish the value of the statistical comparison. Teamsters, id. at 339 n. 20, 97 S.Ct. at 1857 n. 20. Following this Court's suggestion on remand, the district court conducted a statistical analysis which compared the Fire Department's work force to those members of the general population of Metro Dade who fall within the qualified age group of 18 to 55 year-olds. See Hammon v. Berry, 826 F.2d 73, 77 (D.C.Cir.1987) (denial of rehearing by panel) (There should be no mistaking the correct benchmark in this case: the relevant labor force consists of persons 20 to 28 years of age in the Washington metropolitan area) (emphasis omitted). This refinement resulted in a disparity even greater than that suggested by the earlier unrefined data. 15 30 Peightal argues that the methodology employed by the district court failed to properly take into account minimum requirements for entry-level firefighters. However, except for a conclusory reference to age restrictions, high school education, and language proficiency, Peightal argues without reference to evidence or logic. We uphold the district court's finding that the relevant qualified age group consisted of those persons 18 to 55 years of age. With respect to the other minimum requirements, the district court specifically found that further refinement was not feasible because data was not available, and appellant failed to adduce any evidence to the contrary. For example, the level of education of minorities, although available in the 1990 United States Census, was unavailable through the census in the 1970s and 1980s, according to testimony credited by the district court; appellant offered no contrary testimony on this issue. The thorough inquiry conducted by the district court with respect to the availability of data concerning each of the minimum requirements coupled with the appellant's failure to adduce more refined statistical data fulfills this Court's prior directive, given the difficulty, if not impossibility in obtaining labor market figures that precisely identify the racial composition of the qualified applicant pool. Peightal, 940 F.2d at 1412 (Tjoflat, J., concurring and dissenting). 31