Justice Antonin Scalia’s recent comments about "racial entitlements" during oral argument on the challenge to the Voting Rights Act in Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder have set off a storm of controversy. Scalia’s observations do not seem consistent with those of global employers who are seeking to redouble their efforts to attract and retain minorities, to foster equitable treatment of employees, and to renew their commitment to ethical and legally compliant business practices.
Amendments to Voting Rights Act
At issue in Shelby County is whether Congress, in 2006, properly extended for 25 years the act’s "Section 5 preclearance obligations." Those obligations, first implemented when the act was passed in 1965, require that any changes to the voting procedures of certain southern states (or "covered jurisdictions") with the worst historical records of racial discrimination must be vetted by the Attorney General or a special three-judge district court in Washington.
