Employment Litigation · Primary-source case analysis

Albemarle Paper: Title VII Backpay and Employment Tests Must Serve the Statute’s Remedial Purpose

By Aneeta Mishra and Timothy Chan

Published May 20, 2026

Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody reviewed a plant seniority system, pre-employment tests, and the district court’s refusal to award class backpay after finding unlawful discrimination.

Backpay served two statutory purposes

The remedy was designed both to eradicate discrimination and to make injured employees whole for lost economic opportunity.

Good faith did not excuse the violation

An employer’s lack of bad intent was not, standing alone, a sufficient reason to deny backpay after an unlawful practice was established.

Validation had to measure important work behavior

A test with adverse impact had to be shown, through professionally acceptable methods, to predict or correlate with the work actually performed.

The employer’s study did not cover its uses

Subjective ratings, incomplete job groups, and a mismatch between tested incumbents and applicants left the validation materially deficient.

Key takeaways

• Define each job and the work behavior the test is meant to predict.
• Measure adverse impact using the actual applicant and selection data.
• Preserve professional validation materials and job analyses.
• Treat backpay as a presumptive make-whole remedy after liability is found.