I suspect that the REAL reason some temp agencies and some clients are so eager to have temps take TESTs (when they know that they are not going to offer these temps any work) has to do with the fact that most employers know that no Court in NYC is likely to hold that a temp/candidate is qualified when the employer/potential employer is claiming that the temp/applicant is not qualified.

Essentially, every employer in New York City more or less KNOWS that it can get away with claiming that an applicant is not qualified especially if the applicant is BLACK. So, by having the applicant take some TEST and then claiming that the applicant failed the test, the employer gains a weapon to use as a possible defense against any possible discrimination lawsuits (as the employer KNOWS that no Judge is likely to find that the applicant is qualified if the employer is claiming that the applicant failed its test).

Simpson Thacher's TEST for Word Processors is infamous for a number of reasons. First, it is infamous in that (unbeknownst to Simpson Thacher) everyone has a copy of it. Second, it is infamous is that only CERTAIN KINDS OF PEOPLE seem to end up passing Simpson Thacher's test.

Now, when I dropped the bomb on Simpson Thacher and informed them that everyone had a copy of their WP Test that that everyone KNEW that who passed the test had more to do with what KIND OF PEOPLE the supervisor liked, rather than on how the applicant did on the test, Simpson Thacher didn't even blink. This is because Simpson Thacher KNOWS that no judge is going to hold that someone they say failed their test is qualified when they are claiming that that person failed their test.

Old women in the south are fond of the expression, "The Lord Works in Mysterious Ways". Now, since I don't fucking believe in no fucking Lord, I feel that I must do the acting.

It turns that in addition to administering a test that everyone has a copy of and that only certain people seem to pass, that Simpson Thacher was also billing its clients for labor that it got FREE from temp agencies by claiming that the temps would do TRAINING.

Maybe Simpson Thacher can tell the IRS and the US Attorney that the person who reported them for billing irregularities and failure to report income (in the form of free labor from temp agencies) didn't pass their test for word processors? You never know, it is possible that a discrimination defense will work against a RICO lawsuit, after all this is New York.