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85 Minn. L. Rev. 587 (2000-2001)
The Meritocracy Myth and the Illusion of Equal Employment Opportunity

handle is hein.journals/mnlr85 and id is 597 raw text is: The Meritocracy Myth and the Illusion of Equal Employment Opportunity Anne Lawtont [Olur legal scheme against discrimination would be little more than a toothless tiger if the courts were to require... direct evidence of discrimination. -Marzano v. Computer Science Corp.1 Protections in law should be protections in fact. -President Clinton2 Two years ago, I developed an exercise for my students, most of whom major in business, in the hope of creating classroom discussion about what the word qualified means in the context of employment decisions. I had been frustrated by the students' beliefs that employers could select with accuracy the most qualified candidate for any particular position and that affirmative action worked to rob qualified white and male candidates of jobs. I figured that, with a well-written exercise, I could convince my students of the malleability and imprecision of hiring criteria and the fallacy that merit alone determines employment success.3 The exercise required students to act as members of a municipal hiring committee charged with choosing between John Williams and Cathy Jones, two white police officers, for a road officer position with the City, a suburban working class t Visiting Assistant Professor, Pettit College of Law, Ohio Northern University. A.B., J.D., M.B.A., University of Michigan. This Article is dedicated to my father, Thomas J. Lawton, who instilled in me a belief in a fair and just world. I also would like to thank the following persons who provided feedback on drafts or who helped me work through the ideas in this Article: Rebecca Luzadis, Kay Snavely, Joshua Schwarz, David Walsh, and Elaine Yakura. 1. Marzano v. Computer Science Corp., 91 F.3d 497, 507 (3d Cir. 1996). 2. President Clinton on State of Union: 'The Strongest It Has Ever Been,' N.Y. TIMEs, Jan. 28, 2000, at A16. 3. See infra Part I.C. (discussing the reality of workplace opportunity).

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