Connecticut Firefigher Sues over Promotion Test

October 19, 2009

A black New Haven, Connecticut firefighter has filed a federal lawsuit against the city over a promotion exam that was the subject of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June.

Firefighter Michael Briscoe alleges in a lawsuit filed Thursday in New Haven federal court that the city wrongly gives more weight to the test’s written part than the oral section, and that scoring method has a disparate effect on African-Americans.

Briscoe says he received the top score on the oral part of a 2003 test for lieutenant, but he wouldn’t have been promoted under the city’s scoring method. He’s seeking the promotion and backpay.

A message was left for a city spokeswoman Thursday.

The Supreme Court ruled in June that city officials were wrong to scrap the 2003 test results because too few minorities would have been promoted.

Topics Lawsuits Connecticut

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