EEOC commissioner schools Mark Cuban on Title VII hiring practices

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Mark Cuban, a billionaire investor and character on Shark Tank, was met with some resistance from a prime official within the U.S. Equal Employment Alternative Fee Monday when he tweeted that range in hiring is usually a “aggressive benefit” for a corporation and affect his hiring selections. 

“I’ve by no means employed anybody based mostly solely on race, gender, faith. I solely ever rent the individual that will put my enterprise in the most effective place to succeed. And sure, race and gender will be a part of the equation. I view range as a aggressive benefit,” Cuban tweeted. 

EEOC Commissioner Andrea Lucas instructed Cuban he was “lifeless flawed” on discrimination legislation. 

“EEOC Commissioner right here. Sadly you’re lifeless flawed on black-letter Title VII legislation. As a common rule, race/intercourse can’t even be a ‘motivating issue’ — nor a plus issue, tie-breaker, or tipping level. It’s vital employers perceive the bottom guidelines right here,” Lucas tweeted. 

In separate tweets, Lucas cited employment law and linked to the company’s race and colour discrimination steering. 

“Can race/intercourse ‘be a part of the equation’ for an employment determination, so long as it isn’t the ‘but-for’ issue? Typically, no. Title VII makes use of ‘motivating issue’ legal responsibility. This isn’t an opinion; affordable minds can’t disagree on this level. It’s the plain textual content of Title VII,” Lucas tweeted. 

An employment legislation professional beforehand instructed HR Dive that range, fairness and inclusion initiatives not tied to hiring selections, similar to in recruiting, are much less more likely to run afoul of discrimination legislation. 

“Attempting to recruit a various pool of candidates shouldn’t be an issue,” the lawyer mentioned.

America First Authorized, a conservative nonprofit, has filed plenty of complaints with the EEOC alleging discrimination in DEI initiatives at main companies. The nonprofit, which is headed by former Trump Administration Advisor Stephen Miller, has focused Main League Baseball for operating range packages it mentioned solely present growth alternatives for “certified minority and feminine candidates.” It has additionally filed complaints in opposition to American, United and Southwest Airways for discriminatory practices of their hiring and retention packages geared toward girls and other people of colour, amongst different corporations.