Dunlap vs. Tennessee Authority

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Assignment #2 – Dunlap v. Tennessee Valley Authority May 4, 2013 Business Employment Law - HRM 510 Dr. Zelphia A. Brown, SPHR, Instructor Assignment #1 – Dunlap v. Tennessee Valley Authority What is the legal issue in this case? David Dunlap filed a suit in the District Court against Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) claiming he was racially discriminated against violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The courts sided with Dunlap citing he had been subjected to disparate treatment, disparate impact, and disparate analysis. The District Court believed TVA was subjective in their hiring procedures practicing racial biases against Dunlap and other African American applicants (Walsh, 2010). On appeal, The U.S. Court of Appeals needed to determine if Dunlap had fulfilled burden of proof in his case or if the District Court had made a mistake in their findings. The U.S. Court of Appeals confirmed the District Court’s decision in this case by citing there was sufficient evidence for disparate treatment however they reversed the decision of disparate impact. The U.S. Court of Appeals supported the District Court’s decision on awards of damages, and fees (Find Law, 2008). Explain why the plaintiff’s disparate (adverse) impact claim fail? The disparate impact claim failed because Dunlap failed to prove TVA’s hiring practices affected one group more severely than another. In this situation discriminatory proof is not required. The District Court’s findings proved that TVA’s interview procedures were discriminatory as they excluded African American applicants in general; however, the U.S. Appeals Court disagreed. The Courts believed that Dunlap lacked statistical proof validating a protected group was negatively impacted establishing a “Pima Facie” case. Dunlap had identified a specific employment procedure, challenging the

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