Disparate Impact/Disparate Treatment Case Study

Essay by shanbananaA+, November 2006

download word file, 5 pages 0.0

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces laws enacted by Congress to prevent job discrimination, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Americans with Disability Act (ADA), and Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). According to EEOC (nd), "it is illegal to discriminate in any aspect of employment" (p. 1). This paper will illustrate two separate cases that involve disparate impact and disparate treatment, as well as the specific implications of the ruling in both cases.

Disparate Impact: EEOC v. Allstate Insurance Co.

According to Richard Zackin (nd):

Disparate impact is a methodology for establishing that an employer has engaged in discrimination against a specific group of employees or job applicants of the same race, ethnicity, religion, or sex that does not require evidence that the employer intended to discriminate (p. 1).

This was the case in Smith v. City of Jackson, Mississippi. The plaintiffs in this case were city police officers who alleged that the city discriminated against them due to his or her age.

According to the allegations, the plaintiffs accuse the city of being unfair in its salary increases to older officers than to the younger officers.

According to Zackin, "the city adopted a pay plan providing raises to all city employees. The purpose of this plan was to attract and retain qualified people, provide incentive for performance, maintain competitiveness with other public sector agencies and ensure equitable compensation. . ." (p. 1). The plan included giving raises to police officers that had less than five years on the force. Most officers on the force over the age of 40 had more than five years, and did not receive the same compensation that the newer officers were receiving.

The original suit that was filed claimed both disparate impact and disparate treatment. The city motioned for...