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Details Of New Haven, Conn., Firefighting Exam

By Kristina Peterson, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- New Haven, Conn.'s white firefighters and city officials couldn't agree on what constitutes a fair promotional exam in briefs leading up to Monday's U.S. Supreme Court ruling on employment discrimination.

The white firefighters involved in the Ricci v. Stefano case, which involved New Haven's decision to discard the tests, said the promotion exam was fair and neutral. The city argued it had been unintentionally designed to put minority firefighters at a disadvantage.

In 2003, New Haven hired professional testing firm Industrial/Organizational Solutions, Inc. to develop its promotional exams for both captains and lieutenants. Applicants needed to be well-versed on a wide range of topics including fire science, building and high-rise construction and collapse, advanced rescue techniques and how to respond in the case of fires and other catastrophes.

The exam was composed of two sections. The first was a written exam of 100 multiple-choice questions focused on technical job knowledge that counted for 60% of the total score. According to the brief filed by Ricci and other petitioners, the exams were written below a 10th-grade reading level.

Next came an oral exam, weighted 40%, in which panels of three experts evaluated how well firefighters could assess a situation and direct others in an emergency.

In its critique of the test, the city noted that the test contained questions that were irrelevant to New Haven. This included whether to approach an emergency from uptown or downtown - a distinction not meaningful in New Haven, city officials said.

The city also argued that placing more emphasis on memorized knowledge put the minority candidates at a disadvantage. If the oral exam had counted for 70% of the total, three black firefighters would have been contenders for promotions, attorneys for the city noted.

But the white firefighters, led by Frank Ricci, said the tests were not skewed. Firefighters who completed a questionnaire following the exam overall said it was "fair and job-related," they noted.

The tests were developed based on professional textbooks, in collaboration with New Haven Fire Department's top two officers. Three months before the test, the city gave firefighters a syllabus of the topics that would be covered to help them study.

On Monday, Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing the Supreme Court's 5-4 conservative majority opinion, said New Haven violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination.

- By Kristina Peterson, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6619; kristina.peterson@ dowjones.com

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