Equality in hiring means hiring the person who is best qualified for the position. Equity means hiring people based on criteria other than their qualifications supposedly to level the playing field.
On Thursday, American Greatness posted an article about some changes that are being made to the hiring practices in the Department of War.
The article reports:
The Justice Department concluded Tuesday that a key Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) interpretation of federal employment law is unconstitutional, arguing that it pressures employers to consider race when making hiring decisions.
The opinion, issued by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) and challenges the concept of disparate-impact liability under Title VII, which allows employers to face legal consequences when neutral employment policies disproportionately affect groups protected by race, sex or other classifications.
While the opinion does not carry the force of a court ruling, it could significantly influence how federal agencies approach workplace discrimination cases and may make it more difficult for employees to bring certain claims against employers.In an unusual move, the Justice Department announced the opinion jointly with the EEOC.
T. Elliot Gaiser, assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel, argued that the current interpretation of disparate-impact liability creates pressure on employers to make race-conscious decisions in order to avoid lawsuits.
“The fundamental problem is that disparate-impact liability tends to incent—and even coerce—employers to make race-based decisions to avoid liability or the threat of liability,” Gaiser wrote.
“By pressuring employers to take race-based actions in the name of proactively addressing potential statistical disparities, disparate-impact liability allows the government to engage in race discrimination indirectly,” he added.
The opinion is the latest step in the Trump administration’s effort to dismantle progressive diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and other policies officials claim have encouraged discrimination under the guise of promoting equality.
If a soldier is tasked with defending his fellow soldiers in battle, I want him to be the smartest, best-trained, most qualified soldier available I really don’t care about his race, religion, color or sex life.