Critics of Workplace Diversity Efforts Eye Civil War-Era Law
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Several suits filed on behalf of White workers following the US Supreme Court’s decision outlawing affirmative action in higher education are banking on a Civil War-era statute guaranteeing equal rights to Black Americans to challenge the legality of corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.
The discrimination cases have been filed in recent weeks under Section 1981 of the 1866 Civil Rights Act, rather than the more traditional route, Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. They include a lawsuit filed Tuesday against Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC over the termination of a White male employee who claimed he was being replaced by a Black woman to comply with the firm’s diversity objectives.