Since its inception, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) has prohibited employers from discriminating against employees and applicants because of their race. Unfortunately, neither Title VII nor its accompanying regulations define what “race” actually means in this context. Moreover, the issue of what is and what is not “race” for purposes of discrimination has not often been a material issue in reported employment discrimination cases.
However, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in EEOC v. Catastrophe Management Solutions, No. 14-13482, 2016 WL 7210059 (11th Cir. Dec. 13, 2016), recently provided an in-depth and thought-provoking analysis of what “race” means in the employment law context and in so doing also explored this issue as it relates to society as a whole. As explained more fully below, the court in Catastrophe held that Title VII protects only the immutable characteristics of race for which individuals do not have a choice, but not the mutable characteristics individuals choose to adopt. Further, the court applied this rule to hold that an African-American applicant’s dreadlocks were not an immutable characteristic subject to Title VII’s protection against race discrimination. Whether one agrees or disagrees with the ultimate outcome of the Catastrophe decision, the decision does present a very in-depth and thought-provoking review of this surprisingly complex issue within the employment law context and, arguably, society as a whole.
