Employment Litigation · Primary-source case analysis

Griggs: Neutral Employment Tests Must Measure the Job When They Exclude Protected Groups

By Aneeta Mishra and Timothy Chan

Published May 19, 2026

Griggs v. Duke Power Co. reviewed high-school-diploma and aptitude-test requirements that restricted transfers into better jobs after the company had ended overt racial assignments.

Consequences could matter without discriminatory intent

The Court focused on artificial and unnecessary barriers that preserved unequal opportunity, even though the employer had not adopted the requirements for a discriminatory purpose.

The practice had to measure the job

A diploma or test that disproportionately excludes a protected group must bear a demonstrable relationship to successful performance of the work in question.

General ability was not enough

The record did not show that the requirements predicted performance in the departments or job categories for which the company used them.

Business necessity limited the disparate effect

Title VII permitted genuine job-related standards but rejected practices that operated as barriers without serving a legitimate employment need.

Key takeaways

• Measure selection rates for each protected group.
• Identify the specific job and outcome the criterion is supposed to predict.
• Validate tests and credentials against actual job performance.
• Consider less exclusionary alternatives that meet the same business need.