NTL Conservative Blog: Anti-discrimination Laws

The Supreme Court is bending back the overreach in US anti-discrimination laws. The Gay Wedding Cake case is about the tyranny of the minority. Liberals have weaponized anti-discrimination laws to impose their ideological “values”.

Anti-discrimination executive orders after 1945 addressed the issue that “all men are created equal”. The federal government took action to integrate. The US population had settled in racially homogeneous groups to protect their property values. The creation of the suburbs resulted in “white flight” from the cities.

In 1948, the US Military was desegregated. The civil rights movement began in 1954 with the desegregation of schools. Public transit was desegregated in 1956. Government contractors were required to take “affirmative action” to hire Blacks in 1961. All of these changes were made through Executive Orders.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 said that Blacks and Women could apply for all private sector jobs in the US. It was passed by Congress and followed by the Anti-Discrimination Act 1967.

Most private sector employers continued to advertise job openings and hire new employees using the same screening methods they had always used to predict success on the job. But the cost of dealing with anti-discrimination law was high.

There has been a pile-on of protected groups. See Wikipedia post below:

U.S. federal law protects individuals from discrimination or harassment based on sex, race, age, disability, color, creed, national origin or religion. Many state laws also give certain protected groups special protection against harassment and discrimination, as do many employer policies. Although it is not required by federal law, employer policies may also protect employees from harassment or discrimination based on marital status or sexual orientation.^[1] The following characteristics are "protected" by United States federal anti-discrimination law:

· Race – Civil Rights Act of 1964

· Religion – Civil Rights Act of 1964

· National origin – Civil Rights Act of 1964

· Age (40 and over) – Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967

· Sex – Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Civil Rights Act of 1964

· The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission interprets 'sex' to include discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity

· Pregnancy – Pregnancy Discrimination Act

· Citizenship – Immigration Reform and Control Act

· Familial status – Civil Rights Act of 1968 Title VIII: Housing cannot discriminate for having children, with an exception for senior housing

· Disability status – Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

· Veteran status – Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 and Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act

· Genetic information – Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act