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5. Disparate Impact under Title VII
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[5] Disparate Impac t unde r Titl e VII TITLE VII OF the Civi l Right s Act o f 196 4 governs dis crimination in employment, and currently includes a doctrine that predicates liability upon proof o f disparate impact alone , withou t requirin g th e plaintif f t o establis h dis criminatory intent . Even in the absence of that requirement , however, existin g Title VII doctrine require s modification i f it i s t o provid e a remed y fo r transparentl y whit e deci sionmaking . Afte r explorin g th e deficiencie s i n th e curren t rules, thi s chapte r propose s tw o transparency-consciou s al ternatives , paying special attention t o the fact tha t Title VII, unlike the Constitution, regulates private conduct. Two Hypothetical Cases Goodson, Ba d wi n & Indif f i s a majo r accountin g firm em ploying more than five hundred persons nationwide. Among its twent y blac k accountant s i s Yvonn e Taylor , wh o a t th e 83 Disparate Impact under Title VII184 time thi s stor y begin s was thirty-on e year s ol d an d poise d t o become th e firs t blac k regiona l superviso r i n th e firm's his tory . Yvonn e attende d Princeto n Universit y an d receive d a n M.B.A. from th e Kellogg Graduate Schoo l of Management a t Northwestern University . Whil e employe d a t Goodson , sh e was ver y successfu l i n attractin g ne w clients , especially fro m the blac k busines s community . I n al l othe r respect s he r per formance a t the firm wa s regarded a s exemplary a s well. Yvonne alway s wa s comfortabl e conformin g t o th e norm s of th e corporat e cultur e a t Goodson , an d i n fac t ha s bee n comfortable wit h "white " norm s sinc e childhood . He r man ner o f speech , dress , an d hairstyle , a s wel l a s man y o f he r attitudes an d beliefs , fal l wel l withi n th e bound s o f whites ' cultural expectations . However , Yvonn e ma y hav e adapte d to th e corporat e cultur e to o well . I t i s commo n practic e a t Goodson t o be less than absolutel y precise in keeping record s of one' s billabl e hours . Instead , accountant s generall y esti mate tim e spen t o n clients ' account s a t th e en d o f eac h day , and ten d t o er r o n th e sid e o f over - rathe r tha n underbilling . On the rare occasions this practice is discussed, it is explained in terms o f th e firm's prestig e i n the busines s community ; th e subtext i s tha t client s shoul d conside r themselve s fortunat e to b e associate d wit h Goodso n a t all . Lik e othe r youn g ac countants , Yvonn e a t first attempte d t o kee p meticulou s re cords , bu t sh e soo n realize d tha t other s wer e surpassin g he r in billabl e hour s withou t spendin g mor e tim e actuall y a t work. Consequently , an d consisten t wit h he r genera l patter n of conformin g t o prevailin g norms , sh e graduall y adopte d the less precise method . Under Goodson' s promotio n procedure , th e decisio n [100.24.20.141] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 23:03 GMT) Disparate Impact under Title VII185 whether t o promot e a n accountan t t o regiona l superviso r rests o n senio r partners ' evaluation s o f th e candidate' s ac counting knowledg e an d skill s and , t o a lesse r extent , o n assessments o f he r interpersona l skill s solicite d fro m client s and from peer s in the office i n which she works. The reports on Yvonne' s accountin g skill s...