LDF Sues Labor and Defense as Last Resort in Drive Against Job Bias

    17 

LDF SUES LABOR AND 
DEFENSE AS LAST RESORT IN DRIVE AGAINST JOB BIAS 

Massive Job Bias Litigation Anticipated 

WASHINGTON, D.C.---Piling of this suit against the Department of 
Defense and the Department of Labor today by LDF attorneys marks a 
new phase in a massive program of litigation against employment 
discrimination, 

The LDF has been responsible for the majority of racial employ- 
ment suits to implement Title VII, a total of more than 70 to date, 
as compared with 41 filed by the Justice Department and less than 
30 filed by other organizations, 

LDF attorneys assisted individuals in filing more than 700 
charges of employment discrimination with the Equal Employment 

Our litigation has been planned to systematically attack the 
mos t frequently used means of discrimination against minority group 

Sy 

NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND, INC. 10 Columbus Circle, New York, N.Y. 10019 * JUdson 6-8397 
BACKGROUND STATEMENT 

April 8, 1969 

SSS STATEMENT 

workers, with emphasis on geographical regions with maximum unemploy- 
ment and underemployment among Negroes. é 

tation of that law so that it will become much more effective, hence 
our renewed effort. 

Procedural Problems, until recently, have slowed down the filing 
of suits so that our campaign moved through the courts at a snail's 
pace. 

However, these Problems have now been largely overcome. * 

Contributions are deductible for U. S. income tax Purposes 

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pare: 

LDF BACKGROUND STATEMENT April 8, 1969 

The key points of our attack are listed below: 

1. 

oO
 

Separate seniority lines, which limit Negroes to advance in 
all-black, lower-paying departments, and if a Negro gets a 
chance at a "white" job, require that he start at the bottom 
of the white seniority line. 

Abuse of testing procedures, through which Negroes are given 
tests, not given to whites and tests not relevant to the job 
to be performed and arbitrary evaluation of test results. 

Hiring and firing: It is still true that the black worker is 
the "last hired and the first fired." Legal action can be 
taken in cases where black applicants are told no vacancies 
exist and white applicants are hired. Similarly, firing or 
layoff of black workers on a discriminatory basis (frequently 
tied to segregated seniority lines) will also be challenged. 

Concentration in South: The most dramatic needs are in the 
South, particularly among rural populations, victims of the 
agricultural revolution. In view of expanding new industry 
in the area, it is particularly important to create new patterns 
of non-discriminatory employment. 

New plans in North: As precedents are set in LDF cases, we will 
develop liaison with employment groups working in the North and 
offer the help of our lawyers in northern cases. 

State employment services: In July 1968, LDF lawyers won the 
first suit against a state employment agency under Title VII, 
Anthony v. Marion Williamson, director, and Edward J. Shable, 
manager, Atlanta office, Georgia State Employment Service. 

A second suit is pending in Louisiana. State employment agencies 
to a very large extent control vocational training and the job market 
in the South and serve as funding agencies for federal funds for the 
training of unskilled employees. 

We must, therefore, take legal action whenever it is found that a 
state employment agency is discriminatory. 

* These 

=30= 

problems involved: 1) refusal by the courts to permit class 
actions; 2) requirement that conciliation be completed before a suit 
could be filed; 3) questions of timeliness involving whether the 
plaintiff had only 60 days to file suit after filing his charge of 
discrimination.