Race Discrimination
Diversity and inclusion in the corporate culture could mean preemptive hiring is discrimination.A Black employee alleged that she was denied a promotion to a higher IT position, and a less-qualified Asian employee was selected instead. The employer’s defense was that she never applied for the position and, therefore, could not contest the decision. However, the evidence showed that the manager: knew there were only two eligible employees; knew the Black employee intended to apply; did not wait for the application deadline to expire; and directed the selection of the Asian employee and stopped the hiring process, while the application period was still open. The evidence further showed that the plaintiff rated far higher on performance factors than the person selected, and other key managers considered her “superior by a wide margin.” The court found that the employer’s defense seemed to be a pretext for racial discrimination. Calhoun v. Johnson (D.C. Cir., 2011). For best practices in recruitment, watchDiversity Recruitment Web Seminar: How to Find 1,800 Black & Latino Employees.
Race discrimination claim ruled “nonsense.” A white police applicant filed a race-discrimination case alleging that he was bumped from a hiring list, passed over, so that lower-scoring “minority” applicants could be hired. He identified two “minority” officers who were hired. The court upheld summary judgment, dismissing the case as frivolous and “nonsense.” The plaintiff’s complaint relied on hearsay and stray comments he had heard from people who were not involved in the hiring (loose rumors, conjecture and pure speculation). The actual evidence showed that: the plaintiff was not “passed over,” he was eliminated due to failing the background check; the two identified “minority” officers had been hired in a process that was long over before he even applied, and neither of them had “passed over” anyone; and finally, the bottom half of the roster that the plaintiff was on were all white (some of whom were hired), so he could not have been bumped by a “minority.” His entire case was based on conjecture, unfounded rumors and stereotypes about “affirmative action” hiring instead of evidence. Thompson v. Lansing Mich. (6th Cir., 2011). For more on stereotypes, read‘Blacks Should Not Be Satisfied With Food Stamps’: The Danger of StereotypesandNBA Star John Amaechi: Hate Speech Goes Beyond N- and F-Words
