Today, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with a group of white firefighters from New Haven, Conn., who claimed they were treated unjustly when they failed to receive promotions even though they scored high on a qualifying exam and cited that the primary factor playing into this decision was race.

For background information, read this previous Diversity Executive Network post on “reverse discrimination.”

New Haven reportedly stated its primary intention behind the decision to do away with the promotion exam results: to keep minorities from bringing on a possible racial discrimination lawsuit.

According to an article by the AP on Yahoo! News, this particular verdict could in turn affect employment practices across the United States.

“Fear of litigation alone cannot justify an employer’s reliance on race to the detriment of individuals who passed the examinations and qualified for promotions,” Justice Anthony Kennedy was quoted as saying.

What are your initial thoughts on the outcome of this case? How might this ruling affect employment practices going forward?