The Basic Moral Premises behind Laws and Policies against Discrimination

Fairness

Harm/benefit

Reversibility

Like cases (analogy)

 

Specific Laws, Court Cases and Legal Concepts You Should Be Familiar with

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

John F. Kennedy’s 1961 Executive Order 10925: "affirmative action."

1964 Civil Rights Act.

Bakke v. Regents of the University of California. (Supreme Court decision, 1978).

Griggs vs Duke Power Co.

The (moral and legal) concept of a Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ)

 

Affirmative action

Definition al questions: How affirmative is affirmative action?

Quotas and set-asides

Diversity as a factor

Attempting to attract diverse applicant pool

Arguments

Leveling the playing-field (Question: How uneven is the playing field?)

Reverse discrimination (Question: Who pays the cost of AA programs?)

Reparations

Diversity as a qualification (Question: Is the potential to increase the diversity of the workforce a BFOQ (morally if not legally) of minority applicants?)

Question: How far should society go in order to combat discrimination?

 

Sexual Harassment:

A definition: "unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, & other verbal & physical conduct of a sexual nature when... submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment; submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual; or such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment."

Question: how can one tell what is unwelcome?

Two forms of sexual harassment:

Quid pro quo

Hostile work environment

Sexual harassment law is continuously changing as court decisions refine & revise definitions.

The moral bottom line: It is UNFAIR for someone to have to work in an environment that is unnecessarily hostile; in such an environment, the victim is essentially a captive audience.