Griggs v. Duke Power Co., 401 U.S. 424 (1971)

Ricci v. DeStefano, 557 U.S. 557 (2009)

You are the Office Manager of a branch of a sizable international firm. A new directive has just come down from headquarters telling you that you should use a certain ability test in screening all applicants for jobs in your office. You've reviewed the test, and come to the conclusion that it will likely have an adverse impact on applicants who speak English as their second language, people who constitute a significant portion of your labor pool, and your current employees.

1. What would you do?
2. Is the test defensible as "job-related and consistent with business necessity"?
3. Will it create a disparate impact on a group of your employees for which your company will be liable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
4. As the HR manager, what next steps will you take to address your concerns?