Assignment
Responses to Adverse Impact
In the text you learned that, if adverse impact occurs, an employment practice can still be legal if it is job related (valid), is the result of a bona fide seniority system, is in use due to national security concerns, or was implemented to provide veterans with preferential hiring. In these examples, indicate the extent to which you think the employment practice will be found to be legal. Type your response in the space provided.
• Applicants for patrol officer positions with the city of Fort Worth, Texas, are administered a cognitive ability test. The average score on the test is 70. All applicants who served in the U.S. armed forces automatically get 10 points added to their scores. Adverse impact occurs because 20% of male applicants and 5% of female applicants are veterans. Is this practice legal? Why or why not?
B. The cognitive ability test described above also results in adverse impact because 80% of White applicants pass the test compared to 60% of African American applicants. Scores on the test correlate significantly (r = .45) with performance in the police academy. None of the other tests looked at by the City predicted academy or job performance. Is this practice legal? Why or why not?
C. According to the contract between the union and the company, every employment decision at the Spears School of Driving is based on seniority. That is, the employees who have been at Spears the longest get first opportunity for promotions, working the day shift, and not working overtime. Due to a decline in business, Spears must lay off 20 employees. On the basis of seniority, 10 of these employees are African American and 10 are White. Of the 200 employees who will keep their jobs, 180 are White and 20 are African American. Is this practice legal? Why or why not?