Albemarle Paper Co. (Albemarle) (defendant), a paper products company, used two general ability tests in making hiring decisions for skilled “lines of progression.” One test measured nonverbal intelligence; the other measured verbal aptitude. Workers within each line of progression were able to move up as they acquired more advanced skills. Incumbents already working in a line were not required to pass the tests to retain their jobs or qualify for promotions within the same line. The tests were not calibrated to measure job relatedness; Albemarle adopted national norms in setting cut-off scores for passage. Before 1964, black employees were expressly excluded from higher-skilled, higher-paying lines of progression. Once Albemarle discontinued
