skip to content

Home

Serving People from Arrest to Reintegration

A Practical Legal Services Approach to Addressing Racial Discrimination in Employment

  • Organization: Sharon Dietrich & Noah Zatz
  • Date Created: Thursday, March 09, 2006
  • Submitted: Thursday, May 03, 2007
  • Attachment(s): PDF

In this article we look at the role of legal services in fighting racial discrimination. We begin by examining the history of employment discrimination litigation in legal services programs. We then examine the three types of racial discrimination in employment cases (disparate treatment, pattern-or-practice, and disparate impact), along with recommendations as to which types of cases are best selected by legal services attorney for maximum results with limited resources. We discuss, in particular, the potential of disparate impact claims as a strategy to remove common employment barriers experienced by legal services clients. We conclude with recommendations for strategies which the legal services community can adopt as a measured approach to eradicating the racial discrimination that its clients experience in employment.

Reentry NetPractice Areas

Pro Bono and legal aid attorney resources - Pro Bono Net