Case Study Analysis – Connecticut v. Teal (1982)
HRM/552—Organizational Training and Development

Case Summary The case of Connecticut vs. Teal is a part of landmark Supreme Court cases that were heard in the 1980s. Black employees that worked for the State of Connecticut were promoted to supervisors with a provision that for their promotion to become permanent, they would have to pass a written examination. There were 48 black candidates and 259 white candidates that took the written examination. A little over half of the black candidates that took the examination passed, however the black employees that did not pass were excluded from the remaining selection process to become permanent supervisors (Connecticut v. Teal, 1982). These employees filed lawsuit against the State of Connecticut in Federal District Court alleging that, “petitioners had violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by requiring, as an absolute condition for consideration for promotion, that applicants pass a written test that disproportionately excluded blacks and was not job related (Connecticut v. Teal, 1982). Prior to the case going to trial, the petitioners promoted 22.9% of the black candidates and 13.5% of the white candidates from the eligibility list. Due to these promotions, the employer felt that by applying the bottom line concepts, the black employees had been more favorably promoted. The District Court sided with the employer and ruled that the “bottom line” percentages were more favorable to blacks than whites and precluded a Title VII violation (Byars & Rue, 2008, p. 33).
The Court’s Ruling On June 21, 1982, in the case of Connecticut vs. Teal, the Supreme Court held that, An employer is liable for race discrimination where any part of its selection process, such as an examination, has a disparate impact on black applicants or employees, even