Supreme Court: Either Way New Haven Will Be Sued

by Christina Lovato, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service

In 2003, the New Haven, Connecticut, Fire Department administered written and oral exams to determine which employees would be eligible for promotions to lieutenant and captain; there were seven captain and eight lieutenant vacancies, but despite those who passed, no one moved up.

Of the 41 applicants who took the captain exam, the top nine scorers included seven whites and two Hispanics, and of the 77 applicants who took the lieutenant exam, the top 10 scorers where white.

After the Civil Service Board discovered from the scores that no black employees and only two Hispanics passed the test, they determined that the results had produced a significant disparate impact and chose to not certify the results.

The only information provided to the firefighters and public were the scores, given by race and gender. Test-takers did not receive their individual scores.

Seventeen white candidates and one Hispanic candidate who had taken the exams filed a lawsuit in federal court against the City of New Haven, the mayor, and other city executives.

Frank Ricci, a firefighter who took the exam stated that the questions on the test were drawn from “nationally recognized” books and believes the test was fair, and therefore the city should honor the results.

Part of Ricci’s case is that before throwing out the results the city should at least have to consider whether the exam was fair.

In the Supreme Court today the justices expressed concern over the bind that New Haven is facing: because the city didn’t use the results, they were sued for reverse discrimination, but if the city had used the results, they could have faced a lawsuit for discrimination.

Justice Souter expressed this dilemma by saying “You’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”

The decision in the case of Ricci vs. DeStefano is expected in May.

Markey : “This Country has sent so much red, white and blue CO2 into the atmosphere”

By Kayleigh Harvey - Talk Radio News Service

Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Henry Waxman (D-CA), Congressman Edward Markey (D-MA) met with British Secretary of State Ed Milliband MP and Danish Minister for Environment, Connie Hedegaard today to discuss how to tackle environmental issues globally.

The meeting was the start of the new administrations environmental talks leading up to the “Climate Conference in Copenhagen” in December 2009.

In 2012 the Kyoto Protocol to prevent climate changes and global warming runs out. New targets will be set at the Copenhagen Conference.

Talking about America’s role, in the need for saving the environment, Chairman Waxman said: “The United States has to catch up and become a leader.”

Congressman Markey commented on the need to tackle the levels of CO2 emissions created from the United States. He said: “this country has sent so much red, white and blue, CO2 into the atmosphere....we need to fix this.”

Finding the dialogues throughout the day productive, Danish Minister Hedegaard stated: “We cannot tackle the global challenges like climate change without the United States...we have set ourselves an ambitious timeline and we must live up to it...a lot is at stake and it is important for the whole world to come together.”

Adding to these comments British Secretary of State Ed Milliband said: “Obama has shown in the economic stimulus and in his vision around the country that environmental issues are important...that despite the challenges we face, we can get an agreement globally.”

Chairman Waxman concluded with the statement that he hoped to pass legislation in December that will tackle energy independence, climate change and global warming.