Among those who took the Civil Service Exam, Mr. Imelda received the highest score on the written portion. Feeling confident, he applied for a position with the city of Cary. The position required the preparation of written reports and the handling of complaints from the public, either by telephone or face to face. Mr. Imelda is a native of the Philippines, and English is his second language. When he was interviewed for the position, the two interviewers had difficulty understanding him because of his thick Filipino accent. The city of Cary decided not to hire Mr. Imelda because it believed that his heavy accent would impede his verbal capability to respond to complaints, which was an integral part of the position.

Upon learning that he did not receive the job, Mr. Imelda exhausted his administrative remedies and then filed an action under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. He claimed he was discriminated against because of his accent and, thus, his national origin.

Case Questions
1. Is the city of Cary liable under the disparate treatment theory?
2. What could the city of Cary have done to mitigate the risk of this claim?
3. What defenses are available to the city of Cary?
For helpful information on this situation, see the basis for the hypothetical case—Fragrante v. City and County of Honolulu, 888 F.2d 591 (9th Cir. 1989).