Supreme Court Overturns Sotomayor Case Against New Haven FireFighters

In a move that should have come as no surprise, but may have been to some, the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the New Haven Fire Fighters in their discrimination case against the city. Initially, judge Sonia Sotomayor ruled in favor of the city saying they were justified in throwing out the test scores of 17 white and 1 hispanic firefighter on the grounds they weren't qualified for promotion. The city threw those scores out because there were not enough minority candidates that scored high enough on the test for promotion.

The 18 firefighters sued the city for discrimination and lost. They appealed to the Supreme Court and the decision was overturned essentially meaning those men were right and they should have been considered for promotion. I agree whole heartedly with that decision. You cannot refuse someone promotion based on their race or ethnic background, which the City of New Haven had done.

The one point that really stuck out to me in the Supreme Court's decision was the dissenting opinion by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg:

"The white firefighters who scored high on New Haven's promotional exams understandably attract the court's sympathy," she said. "But they had no vested right to promotion."

Essentially she is saying the men, even though they performed all the necessary requirements for promotion did not have the right to be promoted. How in the world can that opinion be justified? I would assume, and rightly so, that if I were going for a promotion in my job and was given a list of requirements that if I performed all the necessary items on the list that I would be given the promotion that I deserved. If I am the most qualified candidate, which these men were, I should be given the job that I seek.

The Equal Opportunity Employment Act and the Civil Rights Act were established during a time when people were not given the proper opportunites and they were created to help advance those abilities. If the only people applying for a job are white then the best candidate for the job should be given the job. If there are candidates from multiple ethnic groups the best candidate should be given the job regardless of their color.

I think the box on applications regarding race should be removed completely. It's not necessary in today's society to know the race of a person because it should not be a factor in the decision. Those acts mentioned above were necessary at one point in our history, which is regrettable, but they are outdated and too often used as a crutch to further a person's agenda. They are used to give minorities an edge they no longer need, or quite frankly deserve. You aren't better for a job because you're a certain ethnic group. You're better for a job because your qualifications say you are, not the color of your skin.