Supreme Court to address workplace affirmative action following college admissions race ban.

The Supreme Court’s Landmark Ruling Opens the Door to Litigation Over Workplace Hiring Programs

The Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on Thursday striking the use of affirmative action in college admissions has far-reaching implications for workplace hiring programs that use race as a significant factor. Legal experts and parties interested in maintaining affirmative action have speculated that this decision may impact corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

Employers Express Concerns

In a brief filed with the Supreme Court, employers such as General Electric, JetBlue Airways, and Google argued that undoing affirmative action policies would result in losing a pipeline of highly qualified future workers and business leaders. They emphasized that diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the workplace depend on university admissions programs that foster racially and ethnically diverse environments.

Chief Justice John Roberts’ Opinion

Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, struck down decades of affirmative action precedent in public and private colleges. He stated that eliminating racial discrimination means treating students based on their individual experiences rather than their race. Roberts criticized universities that have perpetuated racial discrimination through their admissions practices.

Reactions to the Decision

The landmark decision has sparked contrasting responses. Liberal proponents argue that affirmative action ensures diversity, while opponents claim it discriminates against white and Asian students. Jonathan Berry, a managing partner at Boyden Gray & Associates, believes the decision will have broader implications beyond academia, particularly for employers who use diversity as a justification for race-discriminatory affirmative action in the workplace.

The Biden administration’s Department of Health and Human Service secretary, Xavier Becerra, expressed concern about the ruling’s impact on minority groups, especially in the healthcare sector.

Academic institutions have long argued that removing affirmative action policies would lead to a decline in workplace diversity. However, the Supreme Court’s decision has some limitations. It does not apply to military academies, and while universities cannot consider race in their admissions process, applicants can still reference their race in relation to their personal struggles.

Challenges against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in the workplace would need to be litigated separately from the ruling on race-based admissions policies at universities. However, challengers of these programs believe that the affirmative action ruling strengthens their case.

Wen Fa, director of legal affairs at the Beacon Center of Tennessee, believes that civil rights plaintiffs can now cite the college admissions decision to argue against racial discrimination in various contexts.

Efforts to Tackle Workplace Discrimination

America First Legal (AFL) has been actively addressing alleged racial discrimination in the workplace. AFL has filed Equal Opportunity Commission complaints against several prominent companies, including BlackRock, Morgan Stanley, McDonald’s, Starbucks, Twilio, Hershey, and Kontoor Brands. AFL’s complaint against BlackRock challenges the “BlackRock Founders Scholarship,” claiming that it violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by categorizing applicants based on race.

Gene Hamilton, vice president and general counsel of AFL, emphasizes that employers cannot categorize employees based on race in a way that denies or provides job opportunities. He believes that the Supreme Court’s ruling on college admissions will support AFL’s complaints.

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases