The city of BigTime, Texas, was suddenly needing to expand their Fire Department to add four new stations, which would require 92 new department employees. The city announced through various media the need for a total of 92 new Fire Department Employees with fairly attractive wages, and very attractive benefits such as health insurance, vacation time, pension funds, etc. Applicants were told they must apply within the next 15 days, and be willing to complete a series of qualification tests. A total of 280 people applied for these Fire Department Positions, 155 men and 125 women. All of these potential employees were first required to complete a background and reading/math test; 119 of the women (95%) and 136 of the men (88%) made satisfactory scores on this initial test, and advanced to the second and final requirement of a physical test. The physical test had a number of requirements including:
- Climbing a ladder up to a 3rd floor window, picking up a 100 pound bag of sand, and then climbing back to the ground;
- Dragging a 100 foot long piece of a 4 inch hose full of water 200 yards in under 2 minutes; and
- Running a mile in under 8 minutes.
Only 11 of the women (9%) and 120 of the men (88%) made passing scores on this physical test, and qualified for further consideration for the 92 new Fire Department jobs. Is this hiring policy acceptable under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and this Federal Statute's further development over the last 50 years? Does this hiring process involve Disparate Impact? Disparate Treatment? Should the BigTime City Fire Department be required to modify their hiring procedure