Council 31, American Federation of State v. Ward

CUDAHY, Circuit Judge.

This employment discrimination case presents two questions for review. First, does a plaintiff have to allege specific facts to state a cause of action for intentional racial discrimination? Second, must an “employment practice” be more than a single decision by an employer to be actionable under a disparate impact theory? The answer to both questions is no. We therefore reverse.

I

In the mid-1980s, unemployment in Illinois dropped to felicitously low levels. Federal spending on unemployment benefits dropped as well, forcing the Illinois Department of Employment Security…