JUSTICE DEPARTMENT WINS LAWSUIT ALLEGING DELAWARE STATE POLICE ENGAGED IN EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Department of Justice today announced a favorable ruling yesterday in an employment discrimination lawsuit brought against the Delaware State Police. Specifically, United States District Court Judge Kent A. Jordan concluded that a written examination required for entry-level troopers discriminated against African-Americans in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The Division filed suit alleging a “pattern or practice” of discrimination against African-American applicants. The lawsuit alleged that the State Police’s use of the Alert test, a reading comprehension and writing examination for entry-level trooper candidates, discriminated against African-Americans and therefore violated Title VII. While the lawsuit recognized that reading comprehension and writing skills are important for troopers, the Department contended that the cut-off score set for passing the examination was artificially high.

“Clearly, effective communication and literacy skills are a vital skill for law enforcement officers,” noted R. Alexander Acosta, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “Artificially stringent requirements, however, have too often been used to bar minorities from employment and civic opportunities. We will continue vigorously to oppose the use of such tests where not necessary and job-related.”

At trial, the evidence showed that many applicants who failed the test, were subsequently employed by numerous law enforcement agencies, including the United States Secret Service. After weighing the evidence, the District Court agreed that the exam discriminated against African-Americans, and that the State Police had set the cut-off score “at an impermissibly high level,” violating Title VII. The court noted that while law enforcement officers must of course be literate, choosing an excessively high cut score on the Alert test is “counterproductive from both a public safety and a broader public policy perspective.”

The Department next intends to seek remedial relief, including job offers, back-pay and retroactive seniority, for those individuals injured by the State Police’s use of the Alert test.

In January 2004, the Department of Justice filed a similar suit in federal court against the city of Erie, Pennsylvania, challenging a physical abilities test employed by the city for entry-level police officers on the ground that it unlawfully discriminates against women.

Additional information about the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department is available on its website at www.usdoj.gov/crt.

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