Lindsay v. City of Seattle

This opinion was prepared by the late Justice Robert C. Finley. It is adopted by the undersigned Justices as the opinion of this Court.

The central issue raised in this case is whether the City of Seattle may adopt a system or program for the employment of civil service workers that gives special employ ment preference or priority as to jobs to certain qualified individuals solely because they are members of minority groups.

Wesley Brabant, a civil service employee with the City of Seattle, was passed over for possible promotion to a foreman’s position in the engineering department. Instead,…