On May 24, the Supreme Court unanimously held that a claimant may bring an employment discrimination claim against the application of an employment practice even if the institution of that practice is beyond the statute of limitations. In Lewis v. City of Chicago , more than 6,000 African-American applicants to the Chicago Fire Department alleged that the city’s use of a 1995 employment examination had a disparate impact on African-Americans.
In 1995, over 26,000 people applied to the Chicago Fire Department, according to the opinion. They each took a written examination as part of the application process. The city ranked the examination scores into groupings. Those who scored an 89 (out of 100) were told they were “well qualified,” and those who fell below a certain score were told they failed the exam and would not be considered for a position. Those individuals whose scores fell between those two groups were informed that they were “qualified” and would remain on the eligibility list. The city announced that applicants would be chosen at random from the “well qualified” candidates, and then the city would select from the “qualified” candidates as needed. Applicants were selected for hiring from the list of eligible applicants 11 times since 1996, and only during the last round of hiring did the city make any selections from the “qualified” grouping. More than 6,000 African-Americans who were “qualified” alleged that the practice of only selecting applicants who scored above a certain score on the examination caused a disparate impact on them because of their race.
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