More on Race and Color Discrimination

All Black workers should be aware of the Federal statutes that currently exist because the statutes are designed to correct the historic disadvantanges and racially-based attacks that Blacks have always been subjected to in the workplace, in our communities, etc. Continuing the theme of the previous post, below is a summation of prohibited actions associated with race and color, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act:

-- Title VII prohibits the denial of equal employment opportunity because of the place of origin of an individual or his or her ancestors, or because an individual has the physical, cultural, or linguistic characteristics of a national origin group;

-- Title VII prohibits discrimination not just because of one protected trait (e.g., race), but also because of the intersection of two or more protected bases (e.g., race and sex). For example, Title VII prohibits discrimination against African American women even if the employer does not discriminate against White women or African American men;

-- Title VII is violated if race was all or part of the motivation for an employment decision. Racially biased decision-making and treatment are not always conscious. Therefore, Title VII covers not only decisions driven by racial animosity, but also decisions infected by stereotyped thinking or other forms of less conscious bias;

-- Title VII also does not permit racially motivated decisions driven by business concerns. For example, concerns about the effect on employee relations, or the negative reaction of clients or customers. Nor may race or color ever be a bona fide occupational qualification under Title VII. (See the archives for a previous post on bona fide occupational qualifications);

-- Title VII forbids not only recruitment practices that purposefully discriminate on the basis of race but also practices that disproportionately limit employment opportunities based on race and are not related to job requirements or business needs. For example, recruiting from racially segregated sources, such as certain neighborhoods, schools, religious institutions, and social networks, leads to hiring that simply replicates societal patterns of racial segregation;

-- Under Title VII, employers cannot treat persons of different races differently in the hiring or promotion process. Nor may employers use selection criteria that have a significant discriminatory effect without being able to prove that the criteria are job-related and consistent with business necessity;

-- Under Title VII, employers must apply the same selection criteria to persons of different races, and apply them in the same way, giving the same weight to each criterion for each person. The reasons given for selection decisions should be credible and supported by the evidence; and

-- Under Title VII, it is unlawful to disqualify a person of one race for having a conviction or arrest record while not disqualifying a person of another race with a similar record. For example, an employer cannot reject Black applicants who have conviction records when it does not reject similarly situated White applicants.

I will continue to provide a summary of prohibited actions under Title VII throughout the week (for race and color discrimination).


Source: http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/race-color.html#N_136_