Iowa - Ruling for State in ‘Implicit Bias’ Suit - NYTimes.com

Iowa - Ruling for State in ‘Implicit Bias’ Suit - NYTimes.com: A judge dismissed a class-action lawsuit on Tuesday that claimed that the state government systemically discriminated against black job applicants by allowing subtle racial bias to creep into virtually every hiring and promotion decision. District Judge Robert Blink said the plaintiffs failed to prove their “unique legal theory,” which was based on research that suggests that Americans inherently prefer whites to blacks, even if they are unaware they do. The lawsuit, considered the largest of its kind against a state’s civil service system, covered up to 6,000 blacks passed over for jobs or promotions since 2003. It sought millions of dollars in lost wages and court-ordered changes to state hiring practices.