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Constitutional Law Keyed to Rotunda
Personnel Administrator of Massachusetts v. Feeney
Citation:
442 U.S. 256 (1979)Facts
The Massachusetts veterans’ preference statute gave advantage to all veterans who qualify for state civil service positions by making them considered for appointment ahead of any qualifying nonveterans. The preference operates overwhelmingly to the advantage of males. The veterans’ hiring preference in Massachusetts, as in other states, has traditionally been justified as a measure designed to reward veterans for the sacrifice of military service, to ease the transition from military to civilian life, to encourage patriotic service, and to attract loyal and well-disciplined people to civil service occupations. It operates to benefit an overwhelmingly male class. When this litigation was commenced, over 98% of the veterans in Massachusetts were male and only 1.8% were female.
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Topic Resources
Topic Outline
Equal ProtectionTopic Refresher Course
Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment