1994 AGN JAN 18 I26 - Laserfiche WebLink

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AGENDA REPORT CITY OF COLTON For City Council Meeting of January 18, 1994 January 10, 1994 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL FROM: Julie Hayward Biggs, City Attone SUBJECT: Educational Requirements for City ositions At the last City Council meeting, Mr. Fred Cordova challenged the action taken by the City Council to require a bachelor's degree as a minimum educational requirement for the position of purchasing manager. Mr. Cordova stated that he believed the action was "illegal" because it could adversely affect minority candidates for the position. In response to Mr. Cordova's statements, Mr. Gordon Johnson prepared the attached internal memorandum, and I have done further legal research to determine the status of the law on such requirements. I have also consulted with Mr. Bill Brunick of Brunick, Alvarez & Battersby on this matter. The law in this area is not entirely clear, and in fact seems to vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. As a result, there is no blanket prohibition against requiring, particular educational degrees for management or other positions within the City. The rule is that whatever requirements are established must be based on genuine business considerations and needs. If it can be demonstrated that a particular educational requirement has an adverse impact on minority or women candidates for specific positions, however, the City must meet certain threshold requirements in order to validate its requirements if a legal challenge occurs. There are three factors that are likely to affect a determination of whether a particular educational requirement is valid. First, the requirement should apply only to higher level positions or positions that require particular skills or academic training. A bachelor's degree required for an accounting position, for example, would likely be upheld whereas a bachelor's degree required for a maintenance worker would not. A requirement for a bachelor's degree for a bank management trainee, for example, has been validated in California (Watkins v. Scott Paper Company (1976) 530 F. 2d 1159, cert. den. 429 U.S. 861). Secondly, educational requirements are more likely to be upheld where a substantial risk to the employer exists if an unqualified individual were to be hired. With regard to the purchasing manager position, for example, someone untrained in accounting, government contracts and purchasing functions might well expose the City to risk of loss or potential violation of the law. Third, health and safety concerns are compelling reasons for requiring certain educational degrees and have been upheld by the courts with some consistency. Thus, a requirement for a AW IN