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The meaning of a test is defined by specific evidence acquired by specific methods.

In the field of testing, we refer to this meaning as validity. Duke Power decision, employers must provide evidence that a test used for the selection or promotion of employees has a specific meaning.

The decision has been reaffirmed and eventually became the basis of the Civil Rights Bill of 1991. The test then did not measure specific job capabilities. On hearing the arguments, the Supreme Court ruled that the tests served as "built-in head winds" for minority groups and had no meaning for the purpose of hiring or promoting workers to the classification of coal handler. In other words, the company had to prove that the test had a specific meaning for particular jobs such as labourer or coal handler. In court, the power company was required to show why the test had meaning for the particular jobs within its establishment. The power company managers argued that using the test "would improve the overall quality of the work force." They suggested that they did not intend to discriminate on the basis of race and that the test only helped them find the most capable employees. The lawsuit centred on the meaning of the test scores. Bc the test appeared to render ineligible a much higher proportion of black employees than white ones, the power company was sued for engaging in discriminatory employment practice. The main obstacle for the men who wanted to move up in the company was their performance on the test. Among the 14 black workers, 13 were assigned to sweeping and cleaning duties. Of the 95 employees at the power station, 14 were black. But the company required a passing score on a general intelligence test for that promotion. The men would have preferred promotion to the next higher classification level of coal handler. The company classified Griggs and the other complainants as labourers whose primary work assignment was sweeping and cleaning. Griggs and 12 other black labourers were employees of the Dan River Steam Station of the Duke Power Company in Draper, North Carolina.

The case of Willie Griggs was argued before the US Supreme Court in October 1970.