In Bazemore et al. v. Friday et al., the U.S. Supreme Court addressed allegations of racial discrimination within North Carolina's extension service, an educational agency for farmers and families run by North Carolina State University and A&T State University. The plaintiffs, black employees of the extension service, claimed that they were paid less than their white counterparts due to a dual system that had been in place prior to 1965 which segregated workers based on race with separate programs for blacks and whites. Although this system was officially abolished in 1965, salary disparities persisted as no adjustments were made to equalize pay between black and white employees who performed similar work duties. The court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs stating that each week's paycheck that delivers less pay to a black employee than a similarly situated white employee is a wrong actionable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act regardless if it originated from pre-Title VII discrimination era or not.

In the dissenting opinion for Bazemore v. Friday, Justice Brennan argued that the majority's decision failed to properly apply Title VII of the Civil Rights Act in relation to discriminatory practices within North Carolina’s extension service. He contended that even though overt racial segregation had ended, there was still a significant salary disparity between black and white employees due to prior discrimination which remained uncorrected by the employer. According to Brennan, this constituted an ongoing violation of Title VII as it perpetuated past discrimination into present-day effects on salaries. Furthermore, he criticized the majority for not considering statistical evidence demonstrating these disparities as sufficient proof of continued discrimination under Title VII standards set by previous court decisions.