Watch out: Supremes’ ban on racial favoritism applies to companies too

If your employer’s diversity goals are blocking you from getting promoted, last week’s Supreme Court ruling against racial preferences at Harvard is promising news.

The conservative justices reminded the nation that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 bars racial discrimination not just in college admissions but also in employment.

That includes reverse discrimination against non-minorities.

The justices signaled that racial preferences in hiring and promoting are on the chopping block.

Quotas, minority-only internships, “affinity programs” and diversity training are all likely to be challenged.

Justice Neil Gorsuch explained in his concurrence that when Congress enacted the Civil Rights Act, it used the same words in Title VI, which bars federally funded colleges from discriminating, as in Title VII, which prohibits employers from discriminating.

Both parts of the law “have the same meaning” and are “essentially identical,” he wrote.

Weighing those words, employers are bracing for an avalanche of lawsuits.

“There is no more profound impact awaiting HR and recruiting space than this decision, certainly in the last 15 to 20 years,” says Valerie Capers Workman of the recruiting firm Handshake.

“The court’s decision should be a wake-up call to employers,” warns Andrea Lucas, a member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The justices explained that college admissions is “zero sum.”

Harvard’s racial targets for blacks and Hispanics led to 11.1% fewer Asian-Americans accepted.

Hiring and promoting are also zero-sum.

If one person gets the job, another doesn’t.

In recent weeks, complaints have been filed with the federal EEOC against Mars, Inc., the candy company, for openly touting that it will increase racial diversity in top management from 16% to 30% and against the retailer Nordstrom, for pledging to increase “the representation of black and Latinx individuals in people-manager roles by at least 50%” by the end of 2025. 

Companies boast about diversity plans, ignoring their harmful impact on non-minority workers who also want a fair chance to be hired or promoted.

In 2021, a white male employee won a $10 million jury verdict against Novant Health, Inc., for allegedly firing him to advance its goal of more diversity in management.

The jury found Novant violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. 

Expect more verdicts like this.

Similarly, in 2022, several employees sued American Express for offering financial incentives to managers to reduce the number of whites in their departments.

The litigants claimed AmEx sent a message that being white is “an impediment to getting ahead in the company.”

Minority-only programs are also being challenged.

The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer launched an internship program reserved for blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans but relented in February under legal pressure to open it to all races.

Now BlackRock, the financial behemoth, faces a complaint over its analyst program for minorities.

In the Harvard case, companies including Apple, Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson filed a brief defending the college for producing a “diverse” pipeline of graduates they could hire. 

The companies insisted diversity would result in more sales, profits and innovation.

But the justices dispensed with the racist canard that diversity of skin color produces diverse viewpoints. 

Clarence Thomas suggested that two white students, one from Appalachia and one from a wealthy San Francisco suburb, “may offer more diverse viewpoints than two students, one white and the other black, from Manhattan’s Upper East side.”

John Roberts pointed out the obvious — that it’s racist stereotyping to ascribe different thinking to a person based solely on skin color.

For 60 years, the Civil Rights Act has made it illegal to hire or promote based on race. 

But after George Floyd’s death in 2020, many companies launched ambitious efforts to diversify their workforces.

Though well-intentioned, they caused harm and resentment. 

They also flagrantly violated federal law and the nation’s bedrock principle of color-blind equality.

The justices are voicing an urgently needed warning not just to colleges but also to the corporate world to change course.

Roberts is right. The best way to end discrimination is to end all discrimination.

Tell the nation’s big companies to treat all employees equally, regardless of their skin color. 

Twitter: @Betsy_McCaughey