The U.S. Supreme Court heard two cases on Oct. 31 that will test the future of affirmative action in higher education, the available pipeline of recent graduates, and diversity programs in the workplace.
Conservative justices raised doubts about the need for affirmative action 20 years after the court set a precedent to allow colleges to consider race as one of many factors in admissions. It's unclear when the court will issue a final decision in the two new cases.
"While we are months away from a decision, if the Supreme Court concludes that Title VI [of the Civil Rights Act of 1964] or the U.S. Constitution prohibits nearly all consideration of race, it could expose employer diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) programs to increased scrutiny and risk of litigation," said Larry Turner, an attorney with Morgan Lewis in Philadelphia. "Employers in all industries should be prepared to assess their existing DE&I programs and practices, as well as any race-conscious charitable initiatives, for risk if the court moves away from current interpretation of civil rights laws."
Background
Students for Fair Admissions, a nonprofit group organized by conservative legal strategist Edward Blum, sued Harvard University and the University of North Carolina (UNC). The group alleged that Harvard and UNC unfairly give preference to Black, Hispanic and Native American applicants to the detriment of white and Asian American applicants.
Harvard and UNC argued their race-conscious...
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