Williams vs. the City of Montgomery
Groups Decision:
In this case two white firefighters convicted of felonies were discharged; however, they were reinstated. A black firefighter was fired, but he was not reinstated. Williams sued the city of Montgomery claiming that disparate treatment under the civil rights act took place. Policies stated that firefighters convicted of felonies could not work for the city. The city of Montgomery was not given absolute immunity.
We agree with the court’s decision. We think that policies should be applied uniformly to avoid situations where even an unintentional bias may take place. We are unsure if the courts looked into the degree of the felonies received by the Williams and the other two firefighters, but despite the facts Williams should have been granted close to equal treatment or opportunity for reinstatement. This is lesson in upholding policies and doing it steadfastly so that situations like these don’t arise
Courts Decision:
“The City and Board contend that they are entitled to a jury trial. The district court's decision holding that the City and Board were not entitled to a jury trial is correct. Williams requested backpay which is an equitable remedy not requiring determination by a jury. The Board and the City, therefore, are not entitled to a jury trial on the Title VII claim.”
Williams wins this case against the defendant and according to the courts decisions discrimination under title VII took place. Williams is entitled to back pay.
I like how your group analyzed the facts of the case. I agree with you and the court’s decision to rule in favor of Williams. He should be entitled to backpay because I believe that the city of Monthomery’s decision to reinstate the other firefighters but not Williams is a direct act of violation according to Title VII. Regardless if a “less serious” felony was committed the policy at the fire department stated that “any firefighter convicted of a felony would be discharged.” I do not believe that the board should have been allowed to take each man’s overall record in rendering its decision, because at the end of the day a felony is still a felony no matter what the extent of harm is. If the other two white firefighters were reinstated then it would only have been fair that Williams was as well.
ReplyDeleteBased on the information provided in the text it is hard to tell if this is purely race discrimination. These days a person can pick up a felony for many things that are potentially minor and may not reflect that individual's ability to be an effective public servant such as a firefighter. However there are felonies that should preclude people from such duties and the city's blanket policy of no felonies whatsoever should be applied equally to people of all races, genders, ect. Therefore I agree with the groups decision as well as the courts decision to reinstate him and believe that the city should amend it's policy towards felonies if it wants to avoid such conflicts in the future.
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