CHICAGO -- A controversial Equal Employment Opportunity Commission program using different job applicants with similar backgrounds as decoys to detect hiring discrimination is under attack on two fronts.

A federal court judge in Chicago last month dismissed a discrimination lawsuit against Guardian Security Services Inc. of Blue Island, Ill., because the lawsuit was based on that investigative technique. The judge ruled that the two African-American college students acting as "testers" in seeking a receptionist job did not have sufficient standing for the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago to sue on their behalf for racial discrimination.

However, the foundation as of late last week had not decided whether to appeal, said attorney Timothy Huizenga.

The testing program also is under attack in Washington. Criticism from Republicans in Congress was one reason the EEOC recently decided to cut funding for the testing program in its coming fiscal year's budget, an EEOC spokesman in Washington said.

The EEOC late last year announced the program, in which testers differ only with regard to the characteristic being tested: race, gender, national origin, age or disability. Tester pairs apply for entry-level jobs, and their treatment by the prospective employer is compared. In cases of unequal treatment, other pairs may be sent in to determine if there is a pattern of discriminatory conduct, according to the EEOC.

California city covered for damage from burst

WESTMINSTER, Calif. -- The City of Westminster has insurance coverage for damage to a condominium complex that resulted last month when 5 million gallons of water burst out of a municipal storage tank.

The total damage amount still was not known last week, but it is expected to run into the millions of dollars, a city spokeswoman said. Several people were left homeless and six were injured when a 6-foot wave of water slammed into the condominiums, destroying 10 of them. Others units were damaged along with cars.

The city has a $350,000 self-insured retention for property and liability damage, the city's spokeswoman said. Above the SIR, the city has coverage provided through a municipalities pool, Orange County Cities Risk Management Authority. OCCRMA provides coverage up to $5 million per incident with a $10 million annual aggregate limit.

Chairman has resigned at Crawford & Co.

ATLANTA -- Dennis A. Smith has resigned as chairman of risk and insurance claims management services provider Crawford & Co.

The company announced that his duties would be split between two other Crawford executives.

Mr. Smith, who joined Atlanta-based Crawford in 1972, rose to become president and chief operating officer in 1994 and subsequently was given the additional duties of chairman and CEO. He submitted his resignation "unexpectedly" Sept. 28 to pursue other opportunities, a company spokes-man said. No further information was available from Crawford.

Emerging from retirement to take the position of chairman and CEO was Forrest L. Minix, the company's chairman and CEO from 1988 through 1995. Another veteran of the company, Archie L. Meyers Jr., has become president and COO. There had been no COO under Mr. Smith.