VOA慢速英语2009年-Economics Report - White Firefighters Win

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

The United States Supreme¹ Court began its summer break this week. One of the last decisions of its term will likely cause employers to take greater care in how they choose workers to promote.

The case involved tests that the city of New Haven², Connecticut, gave to firefighters in two thousand three. Minorities were heavily involved in the testing process because of disputes over earlier examinations. But the only firefighters who qualified³ for immediate⁴ promotion⁵ to lieutenant⁶ or captain were whites and two Hispanics, no blacks.
　
Fred Ricci was the lead firefighter in the case

City officials believed that offering promotions⁷ based on the results would violate the nineteen sixty-four Civil Rights Act. Title seven of that federal law says employers cannot discriminate⁸ based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin.

But it not only bars "disparate treatment." It also bars "disparate impact" -- actions that are not meant to discriminate but in fact disproportionately harm minorities.

The city canceled the test results, fearing legal claims by minorities who failed the exams. Instead, white and Hispanic firefighters who passed went to court. Their case reached the Supreme Court, and in a five-to-four decision on Monday they won.

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the majority opinion. "The City," he said, "rejected the test results solely⁹ because the higher scoring candidates were white." Fear of legal action alone, he said, "cannot justify¹⁰ an employer's reliance on race" if it hurts qualified individuals.

Writing for the dissenters¹¹, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg said the white firefighters who scored high "understandably attract this Court's sympathy." But, she said, they had no right to a promotion.

The majority found that the city failed to prove a disparate impact violation¹². But the court did not rule on the constitutionality of the provision itself. Still, Kevin Russell, a lawyer who specializes in Supreme Court cases, says the ruling puts all employers to a task. They have to make sure a test is truly unlawful before changing it.

Three judges on a federal appeals court had earlier sided with the city of New Haven. Their ruling, now reversed by the Supreme Court, was not unusual. But the case got special attention because one of the judges was Sonia Sotomayor.

President Obama has nominated her to replace retiring Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court. Her Senate confirmation¹³ hearings are set to begin July thirteenth.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

3 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

4 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

5 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

6 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

7 promotions   

促进( promotion的名词复数 )； 提升； 推广； 宣传

参考例句：

• All services or promotions must have an appeal and wide application. 所有服务或促销工作都必须具有吸引力和广泛的适用性。
• He promptly directed the highest promotions and decorations for General MacArthur. 他授予麦克阿瑟将军以最高的官阶和勋奖。

8 discriminate   

v.区别，辨别，区分；有区别地对待

参考例句：

• You must learn to discriminate between facts and opinions.你必须学会把事实和看法区分出来。
• They can discriminate hundreds of colours.他们能分辨上百种颜色。

9 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

10 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

11 dissenters   

n.持异议者，持不同意见者( dissenter的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He attacked the indulgence shown to religious dissenters. 他抨击对宗教上持不同政见者表现出的宽容。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• (The dissenters would have allowed even more leeway to the Secretary.) （持异议者还会给行政长官留有更多的余地。） 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

12 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

13 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。