Hello. Thank you for joining. Today, I’d like to talk to you about DEI. It’s been in the news a lot lately, but I’d like to talk about it from a legal perspective. I’d like to first talk about the framework behind DEI and then talk about what it looks like in the workplace.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion. Let’s talk about it.
Diversity refers to having a workplace that includes people of different diverse backgrounds.
Equity refers to equitable treatment.
And, inclusion just means everyone at work feels welcome.
The principles behind DEI are not new. They actually started after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, when the federal government required employers to be fair to African-Americans. Of course, over the years, the principles changed in name and expanded to include gender, color, national origin, religion, military status, and more. We refer to this group of individuals as people who are in a protected class or people who have protected characteristics.
DEI is not the law. Many people believe that DEI programs are legal programs, but they are not. DEI programs are internal policies that employers implement to demonstrate their compliance with state and federal law.
DEI benefits everyone in the protected classes, previously mentioned. Although there is a tendency to believe that DEI only benefits people like me, that’s not true. We know that White females are the primary beneficiaries of DEI programs.
What does DEI look like in the workplace?
Recently, DEI programs have come under attack. The argument is that diversity candidates are not smart. And we know that’s just not true because in order to be hired, diversity candidates have to pass the same bar exams, sit for the same medical boards, and pass all the other licensure exams . To keep the jobs, diversity candidates have to do the same work.
DEI programs encourage employers to cast a wider net to attract and hire the best of the best.
Employers have recently been encouraged to terminate employees who were hired under diversity programs. Employers, please beware! If you terminate employees simply because they were diversity candidates, you could run afoul of state and federal laws because while DEI policies are not the law, Title VII still exists, the Americans with Disabilities Act still exists, and a host of other state and federal laws still exist and are still on the books to prevent you from doing that very thing.
I would caution employers to be aware when modifying diversity programs, and I would definitely caution employers about terminating employees simply because they were hired under a diversity program.
I hope this was helpful. If you have any questions about your DEI program, please give us a call. Our link is always in the bio.