Howe v. City of Akron, No. 14-3352 (6th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseIn 2004, Akron administered promotional examinations for firefighters for the ranks of Lieutenant and Captain. Akron firefighters who took the examinations, but were not promoted, filed suit, alleging that the promotional process disparately impacted firefighters over the age of 40 in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 29 U.S.C. 621, and Ohio Revised Code 4112.02, .14, and .99 and that the Lieutenant promotional process adversely impacted African-American applicants, and the Captain promotional process adversely impacted Caucasian candidates in violation of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. 2000e., and Ohio Revised Code 4112.02(A). A jury found that the two promotional processes adversely impacted applicants over the age of 40, and that the exams and promotional processes were not justified by business necessity. The district court entered an award of back pay of $616,217.75, entered a permanent injunction, and appointed a court monitor. The Sixth Circuit affirmed the liability judgment, reversed the back-pay award, remanded for reassignment to a different district judge and a new trial on the issue of back pay, and modified the order to limit the court monitor’s involvement to one promotional cycle.
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