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From Suffrage to the Senate America's Political Women: An Encyclopedia of Leaders, Causes & Issues

Personnel Administrator of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Feeney (1979)

In Personnel Administrator of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Feeney, Massachusetts state employee Helen B. Feeney challenged the constitutionality of Massachusetts’ veterans preference law on the grounds that it discriminated against women in violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Massachusetts law states that all veterans who qualify for state civil service positions must be considered for appointment before any qualifying non-veterans. Feeney, who was not a veteran, had been a state employee for 12 years and had passed several qualifying civil service exams for higher-paying positions, but she had not been appointed to them because veterans had to be considered before non-veterans. Feeney argued that because until 1975 the military had quotas limiting the number of women who could serve in it to two percent, the policy violated her Fourteenth Amendment rights.

The Court wrote: “Absolute and permanent preferences...have always been subject to the objection that they give the veteran more than a square deal. But the Fourteenth Amendment cannot be made a refuge from ill-advised laws. The substantial edge granted to veterans [by the Massachusetts law] may reflect unwise policy.” The Court found the Massachusetts veterans preference law constitutional.

See also: Fourteenth Amendment

References: Personnel Administrator of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Feeney, 442 U.S. 256 (1979).

Citation Types

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Format
MLA 9th
"Personnel Administrator Of The Commonwealth Of Massachusetts V. Feeney (1979)." From Suffrage to the Senate America's Political Women: An Encyclopedia of Leaders, Causes & Issues, edited by Suzanne O’Dea, Salem Press, 2019. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Suffrage3e_0754.
APA 7th
Personnel Administrator of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Feeney (1979). From Suffrage to the Senate America's Political Women: An Encyclopedia of Leaders, Causes & Issues, In S. O’Dea (Ed.), Salem Press, 2019. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Suffrage3e_0754.
CMOS 17th
"Personnel Administrator Of The Commonwealth Of Massachusetts V. Feeney (1979)." From Suffrage to the Senate America's Political Women: An Encyclopedia of Leaders, Causes & Issues, Edited by Suzanne O’Dea. Salem Press, 2019. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Suffrage3e_0754.