Griggs v. Duke Power Co.
E31055
Griggs v. Duke Power Co. is a 1971 U.S. Supreme Court decision that established the doctrine of disparate impact in employment discrimination law, holding that seemingly neutral job requirements that disproportionately exclude protected groups can violate Title VII.
Aliases (1)
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
United States Supreme Court case
→
civil rights case → employment discrimination case → |
| arguedDate |
1970-12-14
→
|
| challengedPractice |
high school diploma requirement for certain jobs
→
standardized aptitude tests for job placement and promotion → |
| citation |
28 L. Ed. 2d 158
→
401 U.S. 424 → 91 S. Ct. 849 → |
| country |
United States
→
|
| court |
Supreme Court of the United States
→
|
| decisionDate |
1971-03-08
→
|
| decisionType |
unanimous decision
→
|
| defendant |
Duke Power Company
→
|
| doctrineEstablished |
disparate impact
→
|
| employmentContext |
electric utility company jobs
→
|
| fullName |
Griggs et al. v. Duke Power Company
→
|
| holding |
Title VII prohibits employment practices that are fair in form but discriminatory in operation
→
employers must demonstrate that challenged employment requirements are related to job performance → employment practices that have a disparate impact on protected groups must be shown to be job related → good intent or absence of discriminatory intent does not redeem employment procedures that operate as built-in headwinds for minority groups → |
| impactOnGroup |
African American workers
→
|
| influenced |
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines
→
subsequent Title VII disparate impact jurisprudence → |
| jurisdiction |
federal law
→
|
| legalArea |
anti-discrimination law
→
civil rights law → employment law → labor law → |
| legalIssue |
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
→
disparate impact discrimination → educational requirements for employment → employment testing requirements → |
| locationOfFacts |
North Carolina
→
|
| opinionAuthor |
Chief Justice Warren E. Burger
→
|
| plaintiff |
African American employees of Duke Power Company
→
Willie S. Griggs → |
| precedentFor |
disparate impact analysis in employment discrimination cases
→
|
| relatedCase |
Civil Rights Act of 1991
→
Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Atonio → Washington v. Davis → |
| remedySought |
elimination of discriminatory employment requirements
→
equal employment opportunities for African American employees → |
| standardAnnounced |
business necessity
→
job relatedness → |
| statuteInterpreted |
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
→
|
| vote |
9-0
→
|
| yearDecided |
1971
→
|
Referenced by (5)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Griggs v. Duke Power Co.
("Griggs et al. v. Duke Power Company")
→
|
fullName |
|
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
→
|
landmarkCase |
|
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
→
|
notableCase |
|
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
→
|
notableWork |
|
Civil Rights Act of 1964
→
|
relatedCaseLaw |