Ricci v. DeStefano Case: Affirmative Action and the Lessons of Adversity

The Ricci v. DeStefano has shown the challenges employees can face in the process of trying to achieve diversity in their working environment while at the same time shunning away from discrimination against the conventional advantaged groups. Through the process to attest the fire department result collected, New Haven possibly was trying to evade the Title VII liability from the African-Americans since there were allegations of discrimination (Rutherglen, 2009). Nevertheless, New Haven ended up in a win-win scenario while the decision not to allow a list of eligible candidates provided an opportunity to avoid a potential lawsuit with African-Americans, a similar decision opened up to a lawsuit from the white candidates who were eligible for promotion.

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From the employer's point of view, the result of the case provided them with some fundamental guidance of how to achieve racial inclusion in the working environment while at the same time avoiding legal battles with their employees. Employers aiming to comply with the anti-discrimination laws in line with the voting rights act or fair housing act may be affected by the court's decision since the 'race-neutral activities with the race-linked goals' can be "constitutionally suspect" in case the courts decided in support of Ricci. On the other hand, a court decision in favor of DeStefano could send a message to the employers that a rejection of examination with racially discriminated is a possible strategy to avoid Title VII lawsuits (Kennedy & Schultz, 2011). In any way, the judicial system is bound to clarify when the employees' efforts to comply with Title VII disparate impact crosses to the impermissible line to the point of discrimination.

I disagree with the Supreme Court decision since the case was a breach of basis employment laws. It is evident that discrimination was the primary reason for the lawsuit. An examination which was administered to fill vacancies for lieutenant and captain posts proved that white candidates had outperformed the minority, but there was a need to involve every party in the organization. Examinations results were ignored, and for that reason, no one was suitable for promotion. In the event that exams are given, it is essential for an employee to be able to analyze each employee's skills for the open position. Every employee deserved an equal chance to move forward and apply for the openings. By throwing out the examination outcome, many felt discriminated against and saw the need to seek legal actions. There is a need to make promotion decision based on qualifications and not racial differences.

How Organizations Can Balance Affirmative Action Goals With Testing Fairness

Traditional firms have often focused on ensuring fairness and balancing affirmative action by focusing on individual attributes and performance. This is a colorblind or more broadly an "identity blind" to human resource management in the organization and is attractive since it avoids a class between affirmative action and fairness: by evading group discrimination, more suitable candidate is selected over the weaker ones irrespective of their sex or race hence creating a capable and effective workforce for the benefit of the organization (Muffler, Cavico & Mujtaba, 2010).

The screening process is the initial step of the application and is very fundamental towards recruiting the suitable workforce. Allowing group-based discrimination like sex, race or ethnicity to influence the selection process at the step of screening increases the probability of litigation problems and at the same time reduces the likelihood of interviewing and selecting the best candidate. In this case, therefore, organizations should avoid group biases at the screening stage and focus on individual qualifications and skills. An essential avenue for prohibiting biasness during interviews is to hold the selectors accountable for every decision made.

There is a need for the organizations to formulate innovative approaches to the solution of issues linked to an affirmative action involving human relationships in the working environment. Even though the technical expertise is fundamental, it is however not sufficient condition to achieve success. The HR managers need to attend to the personal needs and concerns of the employees. With this, they will be able to identify the importance of human interaction and avoid group based biases. Employees are social beings, and organizations need to create an environment that facilitates interaction socially. Social interaction allows the management identify possible concerns from the workforce and initiate strategies that can prevent litigation issues (Rutherglen, 2009). A concept that is important to human social interaction is justice. When there is a promotion decision or allocation of rewards and bonuses, matters of fairness are guaranteed to rise. These can be managed effectively through social interaction in the organization.

The workforce perception towards achieving fairness in the organization, also known as organization justice, affects their attitudes and performance and the ultimate organization success. It is for this reason that the research for organization justice is fundamental. In view of the importance of organizational justice towards the workforce, the management can apply theories of social and interpersonal justice. The theory of social justice tests principles of justice in social interaction but not organizations and thus provides a better understanding of fairness. A better understanding of organization justice will mean that there will be a balance between affirmative action and fairness.

References

Kennedy, S. S., & Schultz, D. A. (2011). American public service: Constitutional and ethical foundations. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

Muffler, S. C., Cavico, F. J., & Mujtaba, B. G. (2010). Diversity, disparate impact, and ethics in business: Implications of the new haven firefighters' case and the Supreme Court's Ricci v. DeStefano Decision. SAM Advanced Management Journal, 75(3), 11.

Rutherglen, G. (2009). Ricci v DeStefano: Affirmative Action and the Lessons of Adversity. The Supreme Court Review, 2009(1), 83-114.