Ruling Dismisses Bias Claim Of 'Job Seekers'

A controversial government program designed to test discrimination laws (by having job seekers submit fictitious rsums) suffered a serious setback in its first court test. The U.S. District Court in Chicago threw out hiring discrimination claims by two college students who had applied for jobs at Guardian Security Systems using fictitious rsums in the summer of 1995. Both were black females -- one of them with a disability -- and were employed as job testers by a Chicago legal foundation with funds from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Judge Suzanne B. Conlon granted a summary judgment to Guardian and dismissed the claim, saying there was no harm or injury to either of the job "applicants" because "neither wanted nor intended to accept" a job offer. "Federal courts are not the proper forums to address the rights of humanity at large," says Conlon. U.S. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has threatened to withhold agency funding for 1999 unless the EEOC cancels the controversial employment tester program.