Williamsburg County, South Carolina: “$150,000 Settlement for Black Public School Students Harassed by Other Black Students for ‘Acting White'” [Volokh]
Posts Tagged ‘discrimination law’
“We were getting people with 60 hours of college credit who were reading at a third-grade level. What do you think you’ll get if you have no screening process?”
So asks Charlie Roberts, who ran the testing division for the Chicago Police Department from 1995 to 1999, upon learning that the city is simply going to give up on testing because of the threat of lawsuits. (Fran Spielman and Frank Main, “Police may scrap entrance exam”, Chicago Sun-Times, Jan. 6.) The problem is exacerbated by the EEOC’s Four-Fifths Rule—of dubious constitutionality after Ricci—which holds that any selection process that results in a selection rate for any race, sex, or ethnic group less than four-fifths of the most successful group is “adverse impact” that “constitutes discrimination unless justified.” 41 CFR § 60-3.
Compelled expression and the New Mexico photographer case
A New Mexico court has upheld state-levied fines against a photographer who refused a job taking pictures at a same-sex wedding (Elane Photography v. Willock). Eugene Volokh, who has written about the case previously, now has a series of posts on the implications of the court’s effort to force creators to “create speech that they don’t want to create.” He also adds posts on the religious accommodation angle, the inevitable what-about-racists objection, and the role of state laws prohibiting “discrimination” against customers based on their political beliefs. More: Timothy Kincaid, Box Turtle Bulletin (“time for New Mexico to change its law. …ultimately what kind of freedom will we have won to live our lives as we see best if it costs the freedom of others to do the same?”).
“Should prison guards be strong?”
The U.S. Department of Justice is ramping up its “disparate-impact” enforcement in an action against the Massachusetts Department of Corrections, according to Roger Clegg at NRO.
“Judge dismisses lawsuit claiming Miley Cyrus’ pic discriminated against Asians”
“The novel legal claim was filed by Lucie J. Kim in a class action suit against the singer earlier this year that sought $4,000 in damages for each Asian and Pacific Islander living in Los Angeles County.” Kim complained that Cyrus was photographed with an Asian friend and other friends pulling back their eyelids; Cyrus apologized when the photo became public in February. Cyrus sought tens of thousands of dollars in attorneys’ fees for what she felt was a frivolous claim; the request was denied. “Henry M. Lee, Kim’s attorney, said his client is considering appealing the case.”
School discipline quotas in Tucson
Heather Mac Donald in City Journal:
As part of its plan to comply with a federal desegregation order now decades old, Tucson’s school district adopted racial quotas in school discipline this summer. Schools that suspend or expel Hispanic and black students at higher rates than white students will now get a visit from a district “Equity Team” and will be expected to remedy those disparities by reducing their minority discipline rates.
What? They can’t comply by collaring and disciplining a random selection of additional white students?
“The persecution of Belmont Abbey”
Charlotte Allen of the Manhattan Institute on the EEOC’s crackdown on a traditionalist Catholic college for not including contraceptives in its health plan. [Weekly Standard]
Are high-occupancy toll lanes racist?
That’s one claim in a lawsuit by the government of Arlington, Virginia against such a plan. The chair of the county board says the issue never came up in county discussions and “only arose [in the lawsuit] because the environmental review includes socioeconomic impact”. [MyFoxDC via Below the Beltway]
Include recent family photo, “political beliefs” with application
Elie Mystal at Above the Law thinks a Decorah, Iowa “Trial Lawyers for Justice” plaintiff’s firm might want to consider including an “equal opportunity employer” tagline in its hiring announcement. Update: Firm defends its position.
After forty years
The Philadelphia School District expects to reach a final settlement in a busing suit brought four decades ago. [Inquirer]