Several African American applicants sued in a class-action suit a hi-tech company in the Southeast. They claimed that they were discriminated against because the percentage of African Americans who were selected was lower than the percentage of whites who passed the test.
The company used both a test and an interview for determining who was hired for a technical job.
The results indicated that 60% of the African Americans who applied were selected while 80% of the whites who applied were selected. The African Americans claimed that they were discriminated against based on disparate impact.
a) Do the African Americans have a case of disparate impact - consider the 4/5ths rule? Why or why not?
b) If there is a case of disparate impact then what does the employer have to show in order to refute the charge of disparate impact?