Graham, Gary, 1990s - 1 of 1 (back)

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NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND, INC 

egal efense lund 10 Columbus Circle, New York, N.Y. 10019 « (212) 586-8397 

SUIT FILED CHARGING CIVIL SERVICE TEST DISCRIMINATORY 

For immediate release For further information: 

Monday, January 29, 1979 N.Y. - Steve Ralston 

212-586-8397 

San Fran. - Fernando Garcia 

415-863-8232 

Washington, D.C. — LDF 

202-638-3278 

Washington, D.C. - January 29 -- A legal challenge 

that goes to the heart of racial discrimination in 

the federal civil service system was filed today in 

the United States District Court in the District of 

Columbia. If successful, the suit (Luevano v.- Campbell 

would eliminate the present Professional and Administrative 

Career Examination (PACE) which, in most cases, is 

the single determining factor in considering applicants 

for hundreds of thousands of professional, administrative 

and technical jobs in a large number of federal agencies. 

The suit, jointly filed by the NAACP Legal Defense 

Fund (LDF), the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights 

Under Law and I.M.A.G.E. De California (IMAGE), an 

association of Hispanic-American federal and state 

employees, charges that the adverse impact of the PACE 

—-more- 

Contributions are deductible for U.S. income tax purposes 

‘The NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE & EDUCATIONAL FUND is not part of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People although it 

was founded by it and shares its commitment to equal rights. LDF has had for over 20 years a separate Board, program, staff, office and budget. 



Civil Service Test - 2 

on blacks, Hispanics and other racial minorities is 

so severe that it threatens to segregate the middle and 

upper levels of the executive branch of the Federal 

government. The suit further charges that the test 

is not in compliance with the guidelines established 

by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), 

the Federal Executive Agency Guidelines on Employee 

Selection Procedures, or certain provisions of Title VII 

of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

Angel Luevano, Melody Van and Vicky Chapman are 

represented in the case as individuals and as members 

of a class which includes past, present and future 

black and Hispanic applicants for civil service positions 

which are awarded on the basis of the PACE scores. 

IMAGE is also a plaintiff in the suit, representing 

the interests of its members and other Hispanic persons 

who are discriminated against by the use of the PACE. 

The defendant is Alan Campbell, Director of the U.S. 

Office of Personnel Management, formerly the Civil 

Service Commission. 

The PACE is a written test that is supposed to 

test cognitive ability. It has been developed and 

is used by the federal civil service to select persons 

for entry-level positions in nonclerical, administrative 

and technical jobs. Those chosen by the PACE are often 

-more- 



Civil Service Test - 3 

placed in "career ladder" positions and subsequently 

promoted to higher, non-supervisory levels without 

competition. Thus, failure on the PACE substantially 

reduces opportunities for these jobs as well. 

Competition for the jobs filled from the PACE 

register is intense. Approximately 200,000 applicants 

compete each year for one of the 8,000 jobs that become 

available. Most applicants must score at least 90% 

to be considered for a job even though the passing 

score is 70%. Generally, final employment decisions 

are based strictly on the PACE score with no consideration 

given other abilities which may be relevant to the 

job. 

The adverse impact of the PACE on racial minorities 

is clear. For example, in the 1977 PACE in the San 

Francisco region, 25.2% of the white applicants scored 

90% or above, while only 1.1% of the black, and no Hispanic, 

applicants did. Despite these indications, the PACE 

has not been properly validated as required by federal 

employment testing guidelines. The suit contends that 

continued use of the test, without validation, is a 

violation of the plaintiffs' rights to equal employment 

opportunity. 

-more- 



Civil Service Test - 4 

The plaintiffs are seeking a court declaration 

that their rights have been violated, an injunction 

against the continued use of the PACE and back pay 

for the losses they have suffered due to the racially 

discriminatory examination. 

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