Plaintiffs-unsuccessful female applicants for paramedic positions at defendant-City’s Fire Department were entitled to new trial on their Title VII, disparate treatment action alleging that defendant denied their applications on account of their gender, where instant denials were based on fact that plaintiffs had failed defendant’s physical-skills entrance examination. Dist. Ct. gave jury erroneous instruction that failed to address plaintiff’s allegation that defendant had anti-female motivation for creating skills test that favored male applicants. Dist. Ct. also found that plaintiffs were entitled to judgment on their disparate impact claim, where: (1) defendants conceded that skills test had disparate impact on female applicants; and (2) under federal requirements for validity studies under 29 CFR section 1607.14(B)(14), defendant failed to establish either that its physical-skills entrance test reflected important elements of paramedic’s job performance, or that there was connection between real jobs test and job skills contained in defendant’s physical skills test.
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
Employment Discrimination