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Obama Admin snubbing Civil Rights Act?
Their questionaire for political appointees (for thousands of positions, BTW, not just cabinet posts) asks about arrests. "There are no time limits for some information, including liens, tax audits, lawsuits, legal charges, bankruptcies or arrests." "Only the smallest details are excluded; traffic tickets carrying fines of less than $50 need not be reported, the application says."
But the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission takes a very dim view of considering arrest records in hiring and firing. Arrest without conviction proves very little, and arrests disproportionately impact minorities. The commission's advice to employers is that merely asking for arrest records may be violation: "Even where there is no direct evidence that an employer used an arrest record in an employment decision, a pre-employment inquiry regarding arrest records may violate Title VII. It is generally presumed that an employer only asks questions which he/she deems relevant to the employment decision." It advises that even with a conviction the employer must weight its gravity, how long ago it happened, and how it relates to the job.
I'd assume Title VII of the Civil Rights Act does not apply to political appointments (political operations usually except themselves from employment laws), but even so, I'd hope that the incoming administration wouldn't be quite so obvious in disregarding its spirit!
Comments
No "civil right act" applies to either the Congress or the White House. De' all be exempt.
Posted by: 30yearProf at November 14, 2008 09:32 AM
I thought that the living constitution guys were very much in favor of construing the anti-discrimination statutes in an extremely expansive manner, even when it went against the text of the statute.
Posted by: Jim W at November 14, 2008 12:52 PM
color me shocked!
Posted by: Tom at November 14, 2008 02:07 PM
Laws apply to the proles, not the overlords. All hail the new nomenclatura!
Posted by: Flighterdoc at November 14, 2008 02:57 PM
Well, Valerie Jarrett, co-chair (or somethign close to that) of Obama's transition team has stated on the record the he is ready to "rule" on day 1.
God help us. Try reading Lamentations for clues to our future.
Dominus providebit!
Posted by: FWB at November 14, 2008 03:03 PM
He isn't ready for anything that is why despots
like Ahmadinejad congratulate him on his
big "victory" and then 15 minutes they
are back to threatening them.
I am sure the Taliban and al-Qaeda are
thrilled that he won too since he favors
détente with them as well.
Posted by: Marcus Poulin at November 14, 2008 07:36 PM
Well, what do you expect from someone who takes advice from ACORN. They couldn't be bothered to pay the current minimum wage to employees working for the "Living Wage" initiative in California. Laws for others, not for the anointed.
Posted by: JKB at November 14, 2008 08:27 PM