The ACLU submitted an amicus brief on behalf of the plaintiffs in this 1980 Supreme Court case which considers, again, the mechanics of affirmative action. Once again, the discriminatory employment zone under considerations is city firefighters - in this case, in the City of Oakland. The court writes: "The superior court had adjudged, among other things, that "[i]n order to ameliorate the effects of past racial discrimination, [the City of Oakland's] appointment of fire fighters . . . shall [for 5 years] be at the rate of at least two racial minorities [sic] for each Caucasian. . . ." (And see pp. 357-358, infra.) They also note that, though most would agree that affirmative action of some sort is needed, the calculations involved are often a point of much debate.

The case also considers the "Equal Protection" clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Title VII, all of which seek to ameliorate discriminatory hiring practices. It considers "good faith" efforts by city entities to improve their "shameful" histories, and asks whether these efforts are enough. The question the effects of employment examinations and their "racially disparate impacts." Invoking the "racially disproportionate impact" on white applicants of the Equal Protection clause, the court writes: "Under this authority the City had committed neither Civil Rights Act, nor Fourteenth Amendment, violation in respect of the claim of racially discriminatory impact of its fire fighter employment tests, examinations, and other employment criteria." Reversing the judgement, the court also write: "the superior court will bear in mind that the purpose of the City's fire department is the protection of the lives and property of its people; it is not to furnish jobs for persons found to be unsuited for that task. If such deficiencies are found, and as long as the City shall act in good faith and without intent or purpose to discriminate on racial grounds, affirmative relief of the sort here applied by the judgment will be improper."