Now that the federal government has declared workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs illegal, employers have been commanded to scrub these dirty words from their business standards. The words have been redefined by opponents of DEI to be affirmative action programs in disguise that Washington State banned in 1998 and again rejected in 2019 [rejecting Washington Referendum 88]. Employers should promote a workplace where people are hired and selected because they qualify and contribute to the success of the business even if they are French, disabled and old.
Some folks have discovered there is no such thing as systemic racism or historic oppression of groups – just oppressive stories and training that make folks uncomfortable. Discussions of racism, sexism, and Cubism needlessly aggravate people. But the hyperbolic public debate over DEI programs needlessly distracts from the actual practices and standards of Washington employers who care about legal compliance. Here’s a sample of opposition to DEI:
“DEI is based on a rejection of our heritage. It is anti-Enlightenment. It is anti-individual rights. It ultimately demands the control of thought and speech. It prefers a multicultural country, where we emphasize and celebrate our differences and try to make heritage Americans feel guilty about our colorblind constitutional principles and social norms. It emphasizes oppression so that people will become attached to a new, as-yet-to-be-seen country. And nowhere does this multicultural country embody the freedom, goodwill, and affection necessary to hold a people together in happy and peaceful coexistence.” [Why Americans Oppose DEI]
Employers need to ignore the noise and stay with the tried and true “equal opportunity employer” policy or even adopt the Washington State Human Rights Commission’s recommended nonexclusionary recruitment language, “We encourage workforce diversity.” [WAC 162-16-290(1)(b)] Employers can obey the law and still hire people they like because the new hire helps the business and doesn’t discriminate.
Washington laws against discrimination do not prohibit an employer from hiring a Black man rather than an equally qualified White man the employer views as a jackass. Such a choice presumes the employer hasn’t adopted a written policy of hiring a minimum number of Black men with positive attitudes over equally qualified White jackasses. Employer efforts to ensure that its hiring, promotion, and training programs do not discriminate may inspire the employer to adopt a not named diversity, equity, and inclusion program to monitor its non-discrimination and equal opportunity policies to avoid discrimination against White women with positive attitudes.
Washington State enforces a comprehensive set of laws designed to protect workers from employment discrimination. The Washington State Human Rights Commission (WSHRC) enforces these and other anti-discrimination laws adopted by the obviously titled Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD) [Chapter 49.60 RCW].
WLAD prohibits discrimination “because of race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, families with children, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, age, honorably discharged veteran or military status, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability.” [RCW 49.60.010] By the way, sexual orientation means “heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality, and gender expression or identity – having or being perceived as having a gender identity, self-image, appearance, behavior, or expression, whether or not that gender identity, self-image, appearance, behavior, or expression is different from that traditionally associated with the sex assigned to that person at birth.” [RCW 49.60.040(29)] Employers should not get tangled in the current transgender rhetoric and recognize these non-discrimination standards. That does not mean employers must adopt new workplace rules for pronouns; rather, employers should accept applicants as they present themselves without illegal discrimination.
WLAD also prohibits the state from granting preferential treatment to “any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.” [RCW 49.60.400] These restrictions exist because Washington residents and workers come from every imaginable heritage, culture, and background that our country has historically welcomed or dragged here.
The New Colossus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
by Emma Lazarus, November 2, 1883, plaque of the Statute of Liberty
Diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts attempt to recognize our differences in honor of the opportunities preserved through non-discrimination laws. Employers may need to change their policy titles to avoid unnecessary noise but ensuring equal opportunity requires at least some effort. Employers may still make non-discriminatory choices to build a cohesive, productive team without jackasses even if the team becomes diverse. Non-discrimination presumes diversity of people, fair treatment, and the chance to be included just not a Noah’s Ark approach to fairness.
