Legal Issues and Employment Law

EEOC v. Dial Corp

Legal Issues and Employment Law

1. What was the legal issue in this case? What did the courts decide?

The legal issue in this case was the plaintiffs’ alleged sexual discrimination of both disparate treatment and adverse impact under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by Dial Corporation.  The judgement was in favor of the plaintiffs on both claims. Dial’s use of a pre-employment strength test was unlawful and had a different impact on the female applicants

1. What is the evidence that use of the strength test disadvantaged women?

Three years prior to the introduction of the WTS, 46% of the new hires were women. After WTS was introduced the new hires for women had dropped down to 15% and the percentage dropped every year for women who passed the test. In 2002 only 8% of women passed the test. That all can be evidence that use of the strength test had a disadvantage to the women applicants. There was also evidence of male and female applicants getting similar comments on their test but only men were hired.

1. What is content validity? What is criterion validity? How did the employer attempt to show the validity of the strength test? Why was the court not convinced?

Content Validity – A strategy for validating employment test that requires the performance of the same behaviors and skills at the job in question.

Criterion Validity- Another strategy for validating employment test that refers to the measures of the job performance.

The fact that Dial had an experienced physiologist who testified his opinion on the company’s behalf that the WTS did certainly perform the skills as the actual job. The physiologist also testified the WTS caused a few injuries that has taken place. Therefore the courts weren’t convinced.