Expert: John Fuller - 7/11/2008

Question
QUESTION: Question? Since Black people are the only true minorities in The United States of America, and all of the other racial groups whether they come from China or Bolivia or Oman or India or Argentina or Belgium or Libya or Myammar or Russia they are united by having light/White skin, and straight or curly hair, Why are they considered minorities still? They are not being discriminated against no matter what area they want to establish a business, not are they being turned away from the overall working establishments regarding factories, fields, retail, etc.... All such people prefer to shun Black people, so my question is, Why are they legally being considered minorities still? I will await your reply.

ANSWER: William,

I appreciate what you are expressing in your question and hopefully can address your issues.

Equal Employment Opportunity EEO background is through Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  Contained in that Act are the provisions that a person cannot be discriminated for employment on the bases of race, sex,religion, color, national origin, or disability.  Some states and local governments extend protections to other categories such as marital status, sexual preference, genetics, etc.  

Minorities by definition of the federal government are those categories of people in the United States who are Black, Hispanic, Asian Pacific Islanders, Native Americans and Alaskan Natives.  All of those categories have historically been discriminated against and in fact over 82,000 complaints were filed last year at the federal government alone.  While Black Americans are a minority, they are now the second largest minority in population compared to Hispanic Americans.  Those groups you mentioned and who identify themseles from Oman, India, Belgium, Libya or Russia are not considered minorities by law.  However, they could be discriminated against through Title VII if someone does this because of color.  The color designation in Title VII is different than race because I have had cases where a Black American discrimnated against another Black American due to their lighter color.  

If you feel you have been discriminated against due to your race when applying for employment or business opportunities, there are many avenues you can address this to including the federal government EEOC, state commissions and local commissions on human relations.

The entire equal employment opportunity provisions can be very confusing even with professionals like myself who have done this for over 20 years.  If you have additional questions or comments, please send them to me.  Conversations and questions like yours are very important to the discussion on discrimnation.  

John

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: What if a worker has not filled out a formal employment application with an Employer (For example, Someone who is compelled to file Form SS-8, Determination of Worker Status for Purposes of Federal Employment Taxes and Income Tax Withholding with the IRS), and he/she feels they should go to the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission to file a discrimination suit, due to an abusive Employer, Are they wasting their time, and should avoid such work in the future?

Answer
William,

If a person feels that they have been discriminated against by an employer in any part of the application process inclduing prior to filling out an application, they can certainly file and EEO complaint with the EEOC.  For an EEO complaint to have validity, the person must have a base which would be a protected category in Title VII  (race, sex, disability, religion, color, national origin) and/or those protected categories that may be extended to others by their own state or locality.  

You must also have an issue which can be denying employment, treating an applicant different than others because of their protected status.  If you feel that there is an abusive employer situation and it has denied you or others a position or chance to apply due to a protected status, then you have both base and issue.  The EEOC or local human relations commission would certainly be interested in (and investigate) the complaint. Feel free to ask any other questions.  

John