In June 1999, the EEOC's Seattle office filed this action in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington against Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corporation alleging violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Specifically, the EEOC claimed that the defendant had been administering a pre-employment physical strength exam that unlawfully discriminated as a result of its disparate impact upon women and which could not be justified by business necessity or job relatedness. Three women successfully intervened in the lawsuit in October 1999. Following much discovery the EEOC and the defendant agreed on a consent decree which was adopted by the court in May 2001. The decree required the defendant to amend its physical strength exam to accurately reflect job duties and notify the EEOC if was planning on amending it again. The defendant was also required to institute Title VII training programs and submit various reports to the EEOC throughout the three-year period of the consent decree. The charging parties were given preferential hiring status, so that they would be placed ahead of any new applicants.

Jason Chester - 07/19/2007


compress summary