High court: Whites were victims of hiring bias

WASHINGTON (AP) — Only white firefighters scored well enough on the test to be promoted. No blacks. So New Haven, Conn., threw out the test.

In an important reverse-discrimination ruling Monday, the Supreme Court rejected that decision, cautioning employers nationwide against changing the rules once the game has begun.

New Haven discriminated against its white firefighters by ignoring the results of a promotion exam on which they did well but no blacks scored high enough to be promoted to lieutenant or captain, the justices said in a 5-4 ruling.

High-court nominee Sonia Sotomayor had endorsed the city’s position as an appeals court judge — ammunition for both supporters and foes in her upcoming confirmation hearing.

In its last session until September, the court’s conservative majority prevailed in the ruling that faulted New Haven and the courts that had upheld the city’s decision to discard the test results. The city said it acted to avoid being sued by the minority firefighters.

Justice Anthony Kennedy said in his majority opinion that New Haven’s action amounted to discrimination based on race against the white firefighters who were likely to be promoted.

“No individual should face workplace discrimination based on race,” Kennedy said.

The ruling restricts but does not eliminate employers’ ability to take diversity into account in employment decisions. But the ruling could make it harder for minorities to prove discrimination based solely on lopsided racial hiring or promotions.

Sotomayor and two appeals-court colleagues had ruled the city did the right thing in throwing out the test, and the Supreme Court reversal gave critics fresh ammunition two weeks before her Senate confirmation hearing. Conservatives said it showed her to be a judicial activist who lets her own feelings color her decisions. “This case will only raise more questions in the minds of the American people concerning Judge Sotomayor’s commitment to treat each individual fairly and not as a member of a group,” said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.

On the other hand, the Obama administration and liberal allies said her stance in the case demonstrated her restraint and unwillingness to go beyond precedents established by her own 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York.

The high court ruling shows “she doesn’t legislate from the bench,” said presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs.