Could you help me with a definition of race and color as it relates to discrimination? We’re trying to sort out our diversity and discrimination policies. We’re not clear on the distinction between race and color discrimination, and we’re not clear if the laws apply just to the stated categories, like black, white, Hispanic, etc., or to everyone. — Alison R. in Palo Alto
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Our CELA editors took this question on.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently released a Q&A fact sheet on this very issue. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers with at least 15 employees from discriminating in employment based on race and color.
The EEOC says that while Title VII does not contain a definition of race, “Race discrimination includes discrimination on the basis of ancestry or physical or cultural characteristics associated with a certain race, such as skin color, hair texture or styles, or certain facial features.” The EEOC also notes that “color discrimination occurs when a person is discriminated against based on his/her skin pigmentation (lightness or darkness of the skin), complexion, shade, or tone. Color discrimination can occur between persons of different races or ethnicities, or even between persons of the same race or ethnicity.”
Besides Title VII, California employers are bound by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), which likewise prohibits employment discrimination based on race or color. It is important to note that FEHA also covers discrimination based on an employer’s perception that a person is a member of a protected class or is associated with a person who is, or is perceived to be, a member of a protected class. FEHA covers employers that regularly employ five or more persons. Under FEHA, it is unlawful for an employer to:
- discharge, refuse to hire, or discriminate against a person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of race or color
- refuse to select or to discharge a person for a training program leading to employment because of race or color
- print or circulate any publication or to make any inquiry, either verbal or through use of an application form, that expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification, or discrimination as to race or color
- discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against any person because he or she has opposed practices forbidden under FEHA or because he or she has filed a complaint, testified, or assisted in a proceeding under FEHA
- aid, compel, or coerce the doing of any of the acts forbidden under FEHA, or to attempt to do so.
California employers are also subject to the Unruh Act. The act doesn’t target employers specifically, but prohibits all businesses in the state from discriminating on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, and disability in the accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, or services of the business.
To further answer your question, the laws do protect everyone from race and color discrimination, not just those in groups traditionally defined as “minorities.” The EEOC fact sheet, “Questions and Answers About Race and Color Discrimination in Employment,” — CELA Editors