Orange County Employment Lawyers Blog
California could set race discrimination laws back significantly if a new bill is passed. The proposed bill is Senate Constitutional Amendment 5 (SCA 5) would overturn the previously passed initiative known as Proposition 209. Proposition 209 was said to abolish discrimination in public education. Opponents of the measure state that the proposed Senate Constitutional Amendment could essentially take the Civil Rights Movement back to a time when race determined success.
A consultation with an experienced Costa Mesa employment lawyer could help determine if you’ve been illegally discriminated against because of your race.
Proposition 209, or the California Civil Rights Initiative, was passed in 1996 when voters across California declared that they had enough of discrimination in the public school systems. Since that declaration and the passing of Proposition 209, there has been a 150 percent increase in enrollment, and a 100 percent increase in graduation rates among minorities. For California students, Proposition 209 gave them a chance to reach new opportunities and better the lives of families across the state.
Abolishing discrimination at the earliest stages of an individuals life will lead to major advantages when it comes time to find a career.
When Proposition 209 was implemented public schools, government institutions, and public colleges and universities could no longer consider sex, race, or ethnicity when determining eligibility. Senate Constitutional Amendment 5 would remove those restrictions, effectively allowing these organizations the ability to give preferential treatment to particular groups of students based on their sex, race, or ethnicity.
Concern about Senate Constitutional Amendment 5 is largely geared toward the Asian community since California universities have such a large concentration of Asian students.
In 2010, the University of California reported that nearly 30 percent of their more than 230,000 students were Asian. Of course, it is apparent that any group segregated by sex, race, or ethnicity could be preferentially accepted or denied depending on the bias of the selecting official.
Since the time of Brown v. The Board of Education and the Civil Rights Act, discrimination and segregation in California schools has become largely a non-issue. Unfortunately, the Senate Constitutional Amendment is reviving the issue in a big way.
Opponents of the Constitutional Amendment have created petitions, websites to share the dangers of this bill. Racial discrimination may lurk in the background of American society but the issue is now being hotly debated in California.
Unfortunately, discrimination is a far too common occurrence, and one that causes our society irreparable harm. California workers are protected from racial discrimination, and should not have the strain of worry due to their race or ethnicity. Nor should the children of Californians be allowed into a particular school or university primarily on what race or ethnicity they may be.
Costa Mesa employment lawsuits can be filed with assistance from the Nassiri Law Group, practicing in Los Angeles, Riverside, and Orange County. Call 949.375.4734.
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