In Kirkland v. New York State Department of Correctional Services, 711 F.2d 1117 (2d Cir. 1983), the Second Circuit affirmed the district court's approval of a settlement that determined promotional order based partly on exam results and partly on race-normed adjustments to the exam, after minority employees made a prima facie showing that the test had an adverse impact on minorities. The Court of Appeals noted that "voluntary compliance is a preferred means of achieving Title VII's goal of eliminating employment discrimination," id. at 1128, and that requiring a full hearing on the test's job-validity before approving a settlement "would seriously undermine Title VII's preference for voluntary compliance and is not warranted," id. at 1130. Thus, "a showing of a prima facie case of employment discrimination through a statistical demonstration of disproportionate racial impact constitutes a sufficiently serious claim of discrimination to serve as a predicate for a voluntary compromise containing race-conscious remedies." Id. at 1130.
The case was cited in the District Court opinion for Ricci v. DeStefano, which was decided by the Supreme Court on June 29, 2009.