Why the Affirmative Action Case Does not Apply to the Workplace On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the Students for Fair Admissions case (“SFFA”) that colleges and universities can no longer make admissions decisions based in part on race. So much for educational affirmative action, and at first blush some may think this case means diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) initiatives by private companies also must be dead. Not … [Read more...]
Can I Be Discriminated Against Based on My Hairstyle?
Minorities can face discrimination in the workplace based on their hairstyle. They may be made to feel that their preferred hairstyle, such as dreadlocks or braids, is not professional enough for the workplace. They may be subjected to rude comments, receive unwanted suggestions on how to change their appearance, or have fewer promotion opportunities simply due to their hairstyle. According to Dove’s 2019 CROWN Research Study, African … [Read more...]
Federal Laws that Prohibit Employment Discrimination
Federal employment discrimination laws, and related retaliation laws, date back to the post-Civil War Reconstruction period. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 was the first federal law to prohibit race discrimination in employment. Five years later, the government passed the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 to enforce the provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment and provide redress for discriminatory action taken by the government, but few people brought claims … [Read more...]
Perceptions of Discrimination in Minnesota Exceed National Averages
A recent survey conducted by APM Research Labs, a division of American Public Media, demonstrates that Minnesota minorities perceive that they have suffered race discrimination at significantly higher levels than national averages, while white Minnesotans deny the existence of discrimination at far higher rates than national averages. In a survey of 1500 Minnesotans, 38% of white respondents stated that race discrimination frequently occurs, … [Read more...]
The Traumatic Impact of Racism and Discrimination on Young People
As young people are joining the workforce and beginning their adult lives, too many young people are finding barriers of racism and discrimination that have been upheld for centuries and maintained through generations. These barriers are prohibiting them from working in a healthy environment or finding opportunities in which to succeed. For young adults who are trying to work and build lives for themselves, discrimination and racism in the … [Read more...]
