Question

5. Hazelwood School District is located in Sleepy Hollow Township. It is being sued by several teachers who applied for teaching positions with the school but were rejected. The plaintiffs, who are all African-Americans, produce the following evidence: a) 1.8 percent of the Hazelwood School District's certified teachers are African-American, whereas 15.4 percent of the certified teachers in Sleepy Hollow Township are African-American; and b) The hiring decisions by Hazelwood School District are based solely on subjective criteria. Will the plaintiffs prevail

Answer 1

The plaintiffs will probably win because the school district is clearly discriminating against African American teachers.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act establishes that it is illegal to discriminate against job applicants based on race, ethnic background, gender, sexual preferences, religion, etc.

Since 15.4% of all certified teachers in the district are African Americans, you would expect that the number of teachers employed by the school district would be similar. It doesn't have to be exact, but it should be a closer number, not 1.8%.