The mayor of Newark, New Jersey decided that the city would eliminate all single-race fire companies in the fire department. To do this, dozens of firefighters were involuntarily transferred to other companies on the basis of their race. Others were denied desired transfers because of the effects that the transfers would have on the racial balance of fire houses. At the time, the city was operating under a consent decree that mandated policies and benchmarks for the hiring and promotion of minority firefighters, but which made no mention of the racial balance of fire companies. An earlier report had found that of 108 fire companies, 81 had a majority of white firefighters and 30 of these had white firefighters only. Fifteen companies were predominantly African-American. Overall, 69 percent of Newark firefighters were white, 24 percent black, and 7 percent Latino. It was agreed that the primary cause of segregation in fire companies was residential segregation rather than any policies of the city; firefighters preferred to work nearby their places of residence and communities tend to be segregated by race. The city argued that integration in fire companies leads to better relations among co-workers and higher levels of information sharing, mutual acceptance, and support. Thirty-four firefighters who had been forced to transfer to other companies sued. 

1. What was the legal issue in this case? What did the court decide?

2. Why was a compelling governmental interest lacking in this case?

3. If this case had been argued solely under Title VII rather than the Constitution, would the analysis and outcome have been any different? Why or why not?

4. Should the Supreme Court’s holding that a diverse student body is a compelling governmental interest for universities be extended to public employment? Why or why not?