The town of Harrison, New Jersey, adopted Ordinance 747, which stipulated that “all officers and employees of the Town shall, as a condition of employment, be bona fide residents of the Town.” Because of the implementation of this ordinance over a period of years, none of the 51 police officers, 55 firefighters, or 80 nonuniformed employees of the town were African Americans. Although the town of Harrison is a small, primarily white community, located in Hudson County, New Jersey, it is clearly aligned with Essex County to the west and is considered an extension of the city of Newark, which it abuts. Newark’s population is approximately 60 percent African American. Essex County’s civilian labor force totals 391,612, of which 130,397 (or 33.3 percent) are African American. In addition, two other counties—Bergen and Union counties—are within an easy commute of the town of Harrison. The four counties have a total civilian labor force of 1,353,555, of which 214,747 are African American. Only 0.2 percent of Harrison’s population is African American.
Several African Americans who were members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Newark Branch (NAACP) applied for employment with the town of Harrison but were rejected because they did not meet the residency requirement. The NAACP sued Harrison for race discrimination, in violation of Title VII. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Newark Branch v. Town of Harrison, New Jersey, 907 F.2d 1408, 1990 U.S. App. Lexis 11793 (United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit)
1. Can a neutral rule that has a discriminatory effect violate Title VII?
2. Does the residency requirement of the town of Harrison constitute race discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
3. Was it ethical for the Town of Harrison to enforce a residency requirement?