Gutierrez, Kim D.

– Sec 3 – Current Issues

March 1, 2018

Griggs v. Duke Power Company 1971

Griggs v. Duke Power Company was a case in the U.S Supreme Court, on March 8, 1971.
This lawsuit involved the issue of racial discrimination, and the legality of using high
school diplomas and intelligence tests as prerequisites for employment under the Title VII
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The lawsuit was filed by Willie Griggs along with twelve
other African-Americans who were also employed under the Duke Power’s Dan River
hydroelectric plant located in North Carolina.

In 1955, way before the Civil Rights Act existed – the Duke Power company required a
high school diploma for initial hiring in any department including Maintenance,
Operations, and Laboratory – all except in the Labor department. But then during the
1965, a year after the Civil Rights Act went into effect, this requirement of having a high
school diploma was further expanded where in those people without high school diplomas
from the Labor department was also blocked and was not allowed to transfer to any other
department.

But then a year after, Duke Power allowed non-high school graduates to transfer from
Labor to other departments if they get passing scores on a general mental ability test
called the Wonderlic Test, and the Bennet Mechanical Comprehension Test that intends
to predict job performance concerning mechanical fields. The passing scores set by the
Duke Power were national median scores for high school graduates. However, during the
case – everyone including the plaintiffs, Duke Power, and everyone who heard the case
agreed that white men scored better than African-Americans on these intelligence tests.
Thus, these tests put African-Americans at a disadvantage compared to whites when it
comes to the Duke Power’s hiring and promotion processes.

Willie Griggs along with the other twelve Africa-Americans who filed the lawsuit argued
that Duke Powers requirement of having a high school diploma and passing these
intelligence tests did not really measure the required abilities to perform particular jobs.
Also, education was not as accessible to blacks in North Carolina - thus placing African
Americans at a disadvantage for eligibility for promotion, transfer, or employment at the
company. Griggs argued before the court that the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act forbade
racial discrimination in employment, and employer-administered tests that excludes
African-Americans were therefore prohibited.

The federal district court however, ruled in favor of Duke Power on the grounds that Duke
Power’s policy of overt racial discrimination was put to a stop. The case was then moved
to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and ruled out that the intelligence tests
administered by Duke Power held no discriminatory intent, and was therefore not
unlawful.

The U.S Supreme Court heard the case during the late 1970’s, and eventually overturned
the rulings of the previous courts and decided in the favor of Griggs. The court stated that
Gutierrez, Kim D. – Sec 3 – Current Issues
March 1, 2018

the administration of intelligence test and the requirement for a high school diploma as a
requirement for employment was not illegal. However, if these requirements limit ethnic
minority hiring, and that if it does not pertain to any related job skills or performance, then
these requirements are illegal.

Chief Justice Burger also noted that Duke Power made no attempt to demonstrate the
effectiveness of having a high school diploma or passing the intelligence tests as
predictors of job performance. According to the vice president of the company, the
executives at Duke Power never presented any evidences showing the justification of
these requirements effectiveness in predicting job performance, and stated that the
executives only believed that these requirements result in the hiring of better workers.

Even with the Duke Power’s implementation of having these requirements, none of the
courts found a discriminatory intent on the side of Duke Power. The Supreme Court only
ruled out that these requirements had discriminatory consequences – and was therefore
illegal. This unanimous decision then established the legal standard that is now called
“disparate impact”. The court ruled that even if there was no motive or intent of racial
discrimination, the unnecessary requirements that had a disparate impact on African-
Americans are illegal, and that employment tests must be directly related to job
performance.

References:

Griggs v. Duke Power Co., 401 U.S. 424 (1971). Retrieved from
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/401/424.html

North Carolina History Project. (1940-1990). In NorthCarolinahistory.org: An Online

Encyclopedia. “Griggs v. Duke Power”. Retrieved from
http://northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/griggs-v-duke-power/

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. (2014). In Encyclopædia Britannica. “Griggs v.

Duke Power Co.”. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/event/Griggs-v-
Duke-Power-Co#ref1187232