DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa's state government employment policies have not discriminated against black employees and job applicants, a judge ruled Tuesday in a case closely watched by civil rights activists.

District Judge Robert Blink issued the ruling after overseeing a trial last fall in the class action lawsuit affecting up to 6,000 applicants who were passed over for jobs and promotions dating back to 2003. He rejected attempts to require Iowa to pay tens of millions in lost wages or change its hiring policies to track and eliminate disparities.

Experts have called the case the largest class-action lawsuit of its kind against a state government's civil service system, and it tested a legal theory that social science and statistics alone can prove widespread discrimination.

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