Employment Litigation · Primary-source case analysis

Lewis: Each Use of a Discriminatory Hiring Practice Can Start a Title VII Charge Period

By Aneeta Mishra and Timothy Chan

Published August 23, 2026

Lewis v. Chicago concerned firefighter applicants who did not timely challenge the city’s initial announcement of test-score cutoffs but filed charges after the city repeatedly selected from the preferred category.

Disparate impact focuses on practice and consequences

A plaintiff need not prove discriminatory intent; the claim challenges an employment practice that causes a prohibited statistical disparity without adequate justification.

Implementation was an actionable use

Each time the city drew candidates using the score classification, it used the challenged practice and produced fresh employment consequences.

The original adoption date did not end the analysis

An untimely challenge to the announcement did not foreclose a timely challenge to later selections made within the charge period.

The merits remained unresolved

The applicants still had to prove disparate impact, identify the specific practice, and address job relatedness and less discriminatory alternatives.

Key takeaways

• Identify every date the selection rule was applied.
• Preserve applicant-pool and selection data for each round.
• File charges within the period measured from an actionable use.
• Develop validation evidence and less discriminatory alternatives.