More About the Case being heard
Please fill our this form if you intend on traveling to Washington D.C. this historic decision
(we need an accurate head count for the busses)
What: Supreme court decision For the entrance exam of the 1995 List
Where: washington D.C.
When: Monday, February 22, 2010
Busses will be traveling on: : February 21, 2010 (3C EMS1)- February 22 (1C EMS-2) it is approximately a 16 hour bus ride. More Information will be availabe as it arrives
If you have any questions. please email them to support@aafl-chicago.org
There is no "set" number of cases they hear. The Court typically hears between 75-100 cases per year.The Justices review the cases submitted to the court with requests that they be heard. After review they decide upon which cases they will 'hear.' and remand the remainder back to the lower courts.
During the 2008-2009 Term, the US Supreme Court received more than 10,000 petitions for a writ of certiorari (request to review a case), but only issued 83 full opinions. Approximately 1-2% of the docket receives some form of attention from the Court.
Lewis v. City of Chicago
Eight black individuals in Chicago, representing a class of more than 5,000 black applicants who passed a 1995 entry-level test for firefighters, but were never selected, contend that a flawed job test becomes an act of discrimination not when the results are announced, but when actual hiring decisions are made based on test results. The issue is which event starts the 300-day filing period for a complaint to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
In 2005, a federal judge in Chicago ruled that the city had discriminated against black candidates in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. White test-takers were five times more likely than their black counterparts to qualify for firefighting jobs, the judge found.
But in 2008, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the lawsuit because the black firefighters party to the case had waited more than a year to challenge the test results.
"That was a fatal mistake," wrote appeals court Judge Richard Posner, because the federal civil rights law says such lawsuits must be filed within 300 days of an unlawful employment practice.
Solicitor General Elena Kagan urged the Supreme Court to hear the case in order to clarify the deadlines for filing discrimination claims.
On Sept. 30, the justices agreed. Oral arguments are expected to be held sometime in early 2010.
Question presented: When an employer adopts an employment practice that discriminates against African Americans in violation of Title VII’s disparate impact provision, must a plaintiff file an EEOC charge within 300 days after the announcement of the practice, or may a plaintiff file a charge within 300 days after the employer’s use of the discriminatory practice?