Lewis v. City of Chicago

In January 1996, the city of Chicago (the city) (defendant) adopted a new hiring policy for the city’s fire department, based on an examination the city administered in July 1995. Applicants who earned a score of 89 or higher were deemed well-qualified and randomly selected to continue with the hiring process. Applicants who earned scores between 65 and 88 were deemed qualified and would be randomly selected to continue with the hiring process only after the well-qualified candidates were exhausted. The policy resulted in a disparate impact on African Americans. In March 1997, the first disparate-impact charge was filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the commission). Other charges followed. In September 1998, a group of African American candidates deemed qualified sued the city in federal district court. The city moved for summary judgment on the ground that Title VII required all discrimination charges be filed within 300 days of the unlawful employment practice. The city argued that because it adopted the policy in January 1996, the candidates had not timely filed their charges. The district court denied the motion on the ground that the city was still relying on the application of the policy, and therefore, the mandated filing period had not ended. The case proceeded to trial. The district court returned a verdict in favor of the candidates. The matter was appealed. The Seventh Circuit reversed on the ground that the unlawful discriminatory employment practice was the act of grouping the candidates based on the test scores, and therefore, the candidates did not timely file their charges. The matter was appealed to the United States Supreme Court.