Background
Janos Roper, a Cincinnati firefighter, sought promotion to district chief in 2019. During a written test, Roper and others experienced software formatting issues that he claimed damaged his performance. The testing company investigated and attributed the issue to user error. The Department promoted the top eleven scorers in sequential order. Roper scored sixteenth and was not promoted. He filed suit in state court alleging racial discrimination, which was removed to federal court. The district court granted summary judgment, finding Roper failed to make a prima facie case.
The court’s reasoning
The court reviewed the grant of summary judgment de novo. To establish a prima facie case of racial discrimination under Title VII, a plaintiff must show that the employer promoted someone similarly situated in all relevant respects except for race. Roper conceded that the Department promoted the top eleven scorers in sequential order. Because Roper scored lower than everyone promoted, he could not demonstrate that the promoted candidates were similarly situated to him in the sole respect that governed promotions. The court noted that Title VII provides a remedy for racial discrimination, not for defective tests. Since the test results were the sole criterion and applied in a race-neutral manner, Roper needed to present evidence that the formatting problem itself resulted from racial discrimination. Roper developed no such argument in the district court or this court.
Title VII provides a remedy for racial discrimination, not for defective tests.
Roper v. City of Cincinnati Fire Dep’t, No. 25-3700 (6th Cir. Jun. 15, 2026)
What it means going forward
The decision reinforces that plaintiffs alleging employment discrimination must prove that the adverse action was motivated by race, not merely that a neutral process contained technical errors or that they were disadvantaged by a flawed test.