McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Chapter 6
Race and Color
Discrimination
Copyright © 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

 Discuss and give details on the history of race discrimination and civil rights in the United
States
 Explain the relevance of the history of civil rights to present-day workplace race discrimination issues
 Set forth the findings of several recent studies on race inequalities
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 Identify several ways that race and color discrimination are manifested in the workplace
 Explain why national origin issues have recently been included under race discrimination claims by the EEOC
 Describe ways in which an employer can avoid potential liability for race and color discrimination
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 Race is the first of the prohibited categories in
Title VII
 A 2008 USA Today/Gallup poll found
 51 percent of whites, 59 percent of Hispanics, and 78 percent of blacks thought that racism against blacks is widespread
 Race discrimination claims account for one-third of the EEOC total claims
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 With regard to Title VII, race has been almost exclusively about African-Americans and whites
 Discrimination against other groups considered primarily under the national origin category
 Race vs. national origin
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 New forms of discrimination are emerging
 Issue of race discrimination in America is multidimensional
 EEOC receives race and color discrimination charges alleging multiple or intersecting prohibited bases such as age, disability, gender, national origin, and religion
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 Why Do We Need E-RACE?
 Most frequently filed claims with the EEOC are issues related to race
 2005 Gallup poll
 31 percent of Asian Americans surveyed reported having witnessed or experienced incidents of discrimination
 Color discrimination is on the rise
6-7

 Title VII’s prohibition encompasses
 Ancestry
 Physical characteristics
 Race-linked illness
 Culture and perception
 Association
 Subgroup or “race plus”
 “Reverse” race discrimination
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 Employment Decisions
 Harassment
 Accent discrimination
 English fluency and English-only rules
 Coverage of foreign nationals
 Discrimination against individual is prohibited regardless of citizenship
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 The “new racism”
 Study of intentional workplace discrimination released by Alfred and Ruth Blumrosen in 2002
 15 percent of African-Americans experience intentional workplace discrimination
 Eastman Kodak Co. – proactive pay raises
 Awareness and knowledge of past history are key
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 The long history of racial discrimination has present-day effects
 Slavery lasted for over 200 years until after the
Civil War ended in 1865
 After Reconstruction Slave Codes were simply renamed “Black Codes”
 Jim Crow laws
 Legalized and codified racial discrimination
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 Segregated public schools were outlawed by the
U.S. Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of
Education in 1954
 Blacks were not admitted into many schools until much later
 Civil Rights Acts of 1964
 Voting Rights Act of 1965
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 U.S. Department of Labor Glass Ceiling Studies in 1991 and 1995
 “Glass ceiling” exists beyond which minorities rarely progress
 An employer must analyze and monitor workplace information based on “glass ceiling” considerations
 Race discrimination can be discovered and addressed before it progresses to litigation
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 Title VII was enacted primarily in response to discrimination against blacks in the country, but the act applies equally to all
 Race discrimination against any group is equally prohibited under Title VII
 McDonald v. Santa Fe Transportation
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 The latest EEOC statistics for FY 2010
 35.890 percent of the total charges were based on race
 Employers often unable to recognize behaviors that may be interpreted as race discrimination
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 Unusual manifestations of race discrimination
 Vaughn v. Edel
 Bradley v. Pizzaco of Nebraska, Inc., d/b/a Domino’s
Pizza
 Chandler v. Fast Lane, Inc.
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 To hold an employer liable for racial harassment, the employee must show that the harassment was:
 Unwelcome
 Based on race
 So severe or pervasive that it altered the conditions of employment and created an abusive environment
 There is a basis for imposing liability on the employer
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 May arise from the employer imposing terms or conditions of employment based on race
 Best approach for employers
 Maintain a workplace where such activities are not condoned
 Take all racial harassment complaints seriously
 Take immediate corrective action
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 Color is one of the five categories included in
Title VII as a prohibited basis for discrimination.
 Color has been a divisive issue for as long as
African-Americans have been in the U.S.
 Color discrimination can exist among people of the same race
 Color still matters a great deal in the workplace
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 What is “Color” Discrimination?
 Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on
“color”
 The statute does not define “color”
 It occurs when a person is discriminated against based on the lightness, darkness, or other color characteristics
 Race and color are not synonymous
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 Be willing to believe and investigate racial discrimination
 Use a top-down message that race discrimination will not be tolerated in any form
 Be open to discussing issues concerning race
 Be aware of cultural differences and encourage inclusiveness
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 Take reports of racial discrimination from employees seriously
 Recognize and resolve simple misunderstandings
 Offer support groups, if needed
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 Offer training in racial awareness and sensitivity
 Constantly monitor workplace hiring, termination, training, promotion, raises, and discipline to ensure fairness
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