Opinion ID: 398814
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Disparate Impact Model

Text: 12 By structuring his case to establish that three of Prudential's employment practices accounted for the disparities in the racial composition of Prudential's work force, the appellant attempted to fit his proof into the disparate impact model of an employment discrimination case. This theory of recovery under Title VII is used to attack employment selection criteria that are facially neutral yet fall more harshly on a protected class of employees. International Brotherhood 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). Title VII proscribes not only overt discrimination but also practices that are fair in form, but discriminatory in operation. The touchstone is business necessity. If an employment practice which operates to exclude (blacks) cannot be shown to be related to job performance, the practice is prohibited. Griggs v. Duke Power Co., 401 U.S. 424, 431, 91 S.Ct. 849, 853, 28 L.Ed.2d 158 (1971). 13 In order to establish a claim of racial discrimination under this theory, a plaintiff need only show that a facially neutral employment practice produces a significantly adverse impact on one race. Dothard v. Rawlinson, 433 U.S. 321, 329, 97 S.Ct. 2720, 2726, 53 L.Ed.2d 786 (1977). The employer's intent to discriminate against a class of employees is not at issue. 7 When coupled with an identifiable employment practice, neutral in form but discriminatory in operation, statistics that show a significant disparity in an employer's work force raise an inference that employment decisions are tainted by intrusion of illegitimate concerns. Rivera v. City of Wichita Falls, 665 F.2d 531, 535 (5th Cir. 1982). A prima facie case is shown by identification of a neutral employment practice coupled with proof of its discriminatory impact on the employer's work force. Johnson v. Uncle Ben's, Inc., 657 F.2d 750, 753 (5th Cir. 1981). 14 The discriminatory impact model of proof in an employment discrimination case is not, however, the appropriate vehicle from which to launch a wide ranging attack on the cumulative effect of a company's employment practices. Nor may just any employment practice be challenged under this model simply because an uneven racial balance exists in an employer's work force. As originally conceived in Griggs v. Duke Power Co., 401 U.S. 424, 91 S.Ct. 849, 28 L.Ed.2d 158, an action in which a group of black employees challenged their employer's requirement of a high school diploma and a satisfactory score on two aptitude tests for positions in several departments of a power generating facility, the disparate impact theory applied to an overt, clearly identified nondiscretionary selection criteri(on) that (was) applied at a single point in a selection process. D. Baldus & J. Cole, Statistical Proof of Discrimination § 1.23, at 12 (1981 Supp.). Although some courts have used the disparate impact model of proof to challenge multiple employment practices simultaneously, see id., this is an incorrect use of the model. The disparate impact model applies only when an employer has instituted a specific procedure, usually a selection criterion for employment, that can be shown to have a causal connection to a class based imbalance in the work force. Thus, a disparate impact analysis may be used to challenge aptitude and intelligence tests, see Griggs, 401 U.S. 424, 91 S.Ct. 849, 28 L.Ed.2d 158, educational requirements, see id., height and weight requirements, see Dothard, 433 U.S. 321, 97 S.Ct. 2720, 53 L.Ed.2d 786, an employer's refusal to employ persons who use methadone, see New York City Transit Authority v. Beazer, 440 U.S. 568, 99 S.Ct. 1355, 59 L.Ed.2d 587 (1979), who have a poor credit rating, see 3 A. Larson & L. Larson, Employment Discrimination § 73.00 (1981 & 1981 Supp.), or who have a record of arrests, see id., so long as a resulting disparate impact may be shown. 15 We require proof that a specific practice results in a discriminatory impact on a class in an employer's work force in order to allocate fairly the parties' respective burdens of proof at trial. The aggrieved party must prove a disparate impact due to the selection procedure. The employer then has the burden of proving that the selection procedure is justified by a legitimate business reason. 8 Johnson, 657 F.2d at 753. Identification by the aggrieved party of the specific employment practice responsible for the disparate impact is necessary so that the employer can respond by offering proof of its legitimacy. Knowledge of a legitimate business reason is uniquely available to the employer who is ... required to persuade the court of its existence by a preponderance of the evidence. Id. We do not permit a plaintiff to challenge an entire range of employment practices merely because the employer's work force reflects a racial imbalance that might be causally related to any one or more of several practices for to do so 16 would allow the disparate impact of one element to require validation of other elements having no adverse effects. The burden of determining the validity of a screening procedure, weighing not only on the employer but also on the limited resources of the district court, will not be imposed where proof of an absence of discriminatory effect attributable to the procedure shows it to be unwarranted. 17 Rivera, 665 F.2d at 539. 18 As we have noted, at trial the appellant tailored his proof on the class claims to fit the disparate impact model. The findings and conclusions of the district judge also reflect the use of the disparate impact analysis. On appeal, both sides have briefed the class claims as presenting a disparate impact case. We conclude, however, that the proof adduced at trial does not fit the disparate impact model. Even if we accept all of the appellant's statistics as accurately reflecting the condition of black employees in Prudential's work force, a step the district judge was unwilling to take, it is clear that Pouncy has not shown that a facially neutral employment practice used by Prudential falls more harshly on black employees. 19 None of the three Prudential employment practices singled out by the appellant-the failure to post job openings, the use of a level system, and evaluating employees with subjective criteria-are akin to the facially neutral employment practices the disparate impact model was designed to test. Unlike educational requirements, aptitude tests, and the like, the practices identified by Pouncy are not selection procedures to which the disparate impact model traditionally has applied. See 3 A. Larson & L. Larson, Employment Discrimination § 73.00 (1981 & 1981 Supp.). 20 Moreover, the appellant cannot make a showing that the Prudential employment practices that he has identified have caused the racial imbalance in Prudential's work force. The disparate impact model requires proof of a causal connection between a challenged employment practice and the composition of the work force. Aptitude tests, height and weight requirements, and similar selection criteria all may be shown to affect one class of employees more harshly than another by controlling for the impact of the employment practice on one class in the employer's work force so that it can be measured. For example, in Griggs the plaintiff proved not just a racial imbalance in the employer's work force, but also that the employer's educational requirement resulted in disqualifying a higher percentage of black employees than white employees. 401 U.S. at 430 n.6, 91 S.Ct. at 853 n.6. In an action challenging an employer's height and weight requirements, the plaintiff demonstrated that, as compared to men, a disproportionate number of women were automatically disqualified from obtaining jobs as corrections counselors. Dothard, 433 U.S. at 329-30 & n.12, 97 S.Ct. at 2726-2727 & n.12. 21 By contrast, Pouncy has not shown, nor can he show, that independent of other factors the employment practices he challenges have caused the racial imbalance in Prudential's work force. The statistics presented by the appellant do show that, on the whole, blacks are overrepresented in the lower levels of Prudential's work force. But this might result from any number of causes. Absent proof that the disparate impact is caused by one or more of the challenged employment practices, we do not require the employer to justify the legitimacy of any (or all) employment practices. In sum, the nature of the evidence presented by the appellant at trial could not establish a case of employment discrimination based on the disparate impact model.