Griggs v. Duke Power Co.
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued December 14, 1970 Decided March 8, 1971
Full case name: Griggs et al. v. Duke Power Co. Prior history: Reversed in part, 420 F.2d 1225. Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeal for the Fourth Circuit, granted. Subsequent history: 420 F.2d 1225, reversed in part.
Holding
Broad aptitude tests used in hiring practices that disparately impact ethnic minorities must be reasonably related to the job.
Court membership
Chief Justice: Warren E. Burger Associate Justices: Hugo Black, William O. Douglas, John Marshall Harlan II, William J. Brennan, Potter Stewart, Byron White, Thurgood Marshall, Harry Blackmun
Case opinions
Majority by: Burger Joined by: unanimous court Brennan took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Laws applied
Civil Rights Act of 1964

Griggs v. Duke Power Co., 401 U.S. 424 (1971), was a court case argued before the United States Supreme Court on December 12, 1970. It concerned employment discrimination and was decided on March 8, 1971. Image File history File links Seal_of_the_United_States_Supreme_Court. ... The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and is at the head of the judicial branch of the United States federal government. ... Warren Earl Burger (September 17, 1907 – June 25, 1995) was Chief Justice of the United States from 1969 to 1986. ... Hugo Black Hugo LaFayette Black (February 27, 1886 – September 25, 1971) was a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (1937 - 1971). ... William Orville Douglas (October 16, 1898 – January 19, 1980) was a United States Supreme Court Associate Justice. ... John Marshall Harlan II (May 20, 1899 – December 29, 1971) was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. ... William J. Brennan, official portrait, 1976. ... Justice Potter Stewart Potter Stewart (January 23, 1915 – December 7, 1985) was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. ... Byron White, official portrait. ... Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American jurist and the first African American to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. ... Justice Harry Blackmun Harry Andrew Blackmun (November 12, 1908 – March 4, 1999) was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1970 to 1994. ... President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964. ... // Case citation is the system used in common law countries such as the United States, England and Wales, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and India to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters or law reports. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and is at the head of the judicial branch of the United States federal government. ... December 12 is the 346th day (347th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 19 days remaining. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... Employment discrimination refers to employment practices that are prohibited by law such as bias in hiring, promotion, job assignment, termination, compensation, and various types of harassment. ... March 8 is the 67th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (68th in Leap years). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ...

The Court ruled against a procedure used by the company when selecting employees for internal transfer and promotion to certain positions, namely requiring a high school education and certain scores on broad aptitude tests. African-American applicants, less likely to hold a high school diploma and averaging lower scores on the aptitude tests, were selected at a much lower rate for these positions compared to White American candidates. The Court found that under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, if such tests disparately impact ethnic minority groups, businesses must demonstrate that such tests are "reasonably related" to the job for which the test is required. Because Title VII is passed pursuant to Congress's power under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, the disparate impact test articulated by the Supreme Court in Washington v. Davis, 426 US 229 (1976) is inapplicable. The Washington v. Davis test for disparate impact is used in constitutional equal protection clause cases while Title VII's prohibition on disparate impact is a statutory mandate. As such, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employment tests (when used as the controlling factor in employment decisions) that are not a "reasonable measure of job performance," regardless of the absence of actual intent to discriminate. Since the aptitude tests involved (and the high school diploma required) were broad-based and not directly related to the jobs performed, Duke Power Company's employee transfer procedure was found in violation by the Court. Note: This page is 84 kilobytes long. ... Density of Americans self-reported as white in the 2000 Census. ... President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964. ... This article is about the concept of a minority. ...

Griggs also held that the employer has the burden of producing and proving the business necessity. However, in 1989, in Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Antonio, 490 U.S. 642, 657 (1989), the Court reduced the employer's burden to only producing evidence of business justification. In 1991, Congress amended The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and overturned that portion of the Wards Cove decision.

External links

• Oyez.com summary
• FindLaw.com article