Minnesota panel advances bill to add veteran or military status to state nondiscrimination law The House Veterans and Military Affairs Division voted Feb. 25 to re-refer House File 35 40, a proposal to add veteran or military status as a protected class under Minnesota law, after adopting an amendment to include veterans of the secret war in Laos and hearing support from state veterans officials and House Research.

Minnesota is taking a bold step to protect veterans from discrimination in employment, housing, and education by advancing a new bill that could change lives!

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#MN #CivicAccountability #MinnesotaVeterans #CitizenPortal #EmploymentEquity #EducationAccess

Hiring Autistic College Graduates in STEM: A Best-Practices Model Learn how STEM employers can better support autistic students with inclusive hiring, mentoring, and workplace practices for career success.

With 85% of autistic STEM graduates under- or unemployed, this best-practices model shows how inclusive hiring, workplace supports, and mentorship can unlock talent and drive long-term career success.

#Neurodiversity #AutismInSTEM #InclusiveWorkplaces #EmploymentEquity

St. Joseph County commissioners approve revised tax-abatement ordinance despite criticism over affirmative-action language The Board of Commissioners on Nov. 18 approved ordinance 67-25 (bill 60-25), which revises the county's tax-abatement rules. Community member Steve Francis argued the change removes affirmative-action recruitment requirements; supporters said the ordinance raises average-salary requirements and adds local-investment and reporting provisions.

St. Joseph County commissioners have approved a controversial tax-abatement ordinance that critics say diminishes affirmative-action requirements, sparking a heated debate about its impact on local job opportunities.

Read the full story

#JosephCounty #IN #EmploymentEquity #CitizenPortal

Meanwhile in #Canada the leader of the Conservative Party, who had to get one of his own party members to step down so the party leader could win an easy seat after losing his previous seat, now bitches about #DEI (which isn’t the term for #employmentequity in Canada) #cdnpoli #cdnnews #canadiannews

Thank you, Senator Andrew Cardozo for this wonderful webinar session of the Pearson Center with our late colleague, Hon. Donald H. Oliver QC. RIP, dearest Don😢
#Diversity #Equality #EmploymentEquity #SystemicRacisism #AntiBlackRacism

youtu.be/96AVVpQapVs

CAO Reports on MOU 35 and Project Labor Agreements for Craft Worker Hiring CAO personnel compare MOU 35 and project labor agreements for city craft worker hiring.

City officials are grappling with the impact of MOU 35 and project labor agreements on Los Angeles' workforce, raising critical questions about hiring practices, worker security, and the future of local employment.

Click to read more!

#LosAngelesCityLosAngelesCounty #CA #EmploymentEquity

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🚨 GOOD on Stellenbosch Municipality: A leaked video suggests racial purging of white employees. We call on urgent, transparent action. Transformation must be legal & fair, public trust cannot rely on vague assurances.

#GOODParty #GoodGovernance #EmploymentEquity

📌#BlogAlert
Read Samata Mhaskar’s “How Job Portals Disadvantage Low Income Candidates” in this week’s blog!
Link: buff.ly/rGSvUDE

💛Support independent academic research in India!
🔖Donate now: buff.ly/e3QVJyV

#JobSearchInequality #DigitalDivide #EconomicJustice #EmploymentEquity #MonkPrayogshala

Six companies face Employment Equity Committee Six companies face Employment Equity Committee NBC Online Thu, 08/14/2025 - 19:15

#EmploymentEquity #AffirmativeAction #WorkplaceDiversity #Inclusion #EquityInWorkplace

EEC summons 13 employers over Affirmative Action breaches EEC summons 13 employers over Affirmative Action breaches NBC Online Wed, 08/13/2025 - 21:27

#AffirmativeAction #EmploymentEquity #EEC #DiversityAndInclusion #WorkplaceEquality

ID: A graphic with the text "45,000" in large white numbers inside a navy blue half-circle. Below, text explains that 45,000 jobs have been created nationwide through the AbilityOne Program, connecting employers with skilled professionals who are blind or have a disability.

AbilityOne connects employers with skilled professionals who are blind or have significant disabilities.

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Public backs San community in jobs row Allexer Namundjembo Namibians on social media and residents of the Zambezi region have backed calls to include the San community in job opportunities at the Ndoro Memorial Combined School hostel.  The school is located in Omega Three, Kongola Constituency, Zambezi region. The protest began after no one from the San community was appointed to the 12 advertised hostel positions.  The hostel was scheduled to open two weeks, coinciding with the start of the school term, but following the recruitment results, parents withdrew their children from classes. Some pupils have not attended school for the past two days. Activist and Zambezi resident Kwala Dobson said San people should benefit from employment opportunities in their area.  “San people are also skilled in various trades, from vocational education to higher institutions of learning,” he told the Windhoek Observer.  Dobson called for the recruitment process to be redone.  “Yes, they should repeat the process. They should cancel what took place and at least use 60% local and 40% outsiders. This means that if there are nine job positions available, six should be allocated to San and three to outsiders,” he said. Kwala added that while people move to other areas for work, jobs in the community should prioritise locals.  “The job advert should state that first preference is for local residents, or applicants should have accommodation within the working area,” he said.  He also claimed that San people are often mistreated and that regional councils fail to promote local participation in opportunities. Community spokesperson Dennis Munyingwa said unemployment among the San is high, yet they are often excluded.  “If you still deny me an opportunity to work, how will I provide for my kids? I am a youth with qualifications, and I applied,” he said.  Another protester told NBC she had applied but was left out despite living in the community. During the protest, a learner expressed concern about safety.  “We live in the park. There are predators such as lions and wild dogs always around the school. At night we cannot sleep while hearing animals roaring. We are not happy seeing the hostel locked while we suffer outside. We were supposed to enter last week. We will not rest until our cries are heard,” the learner said. School principal Sipopo Linus told the media the matter lies with the regional education directorate, which is attending to it. The Ndoro Memorial Combined School hostel has been under construction since 2016 and remains incomplete eight years later.  Built at a cost of N$57 million, it can accommodate about 650 pupils. The school, serving learners from pre-primary to Grade 11 in Omega Three and nearby villages in Bwabwata National Park, still has no electricity or clean water. Last year, Linus said the available water is unsafe due to the mineral belt. The school shares a single tap with the community.  The National Africa Students Association spokesperson, Muzani Muzani, previously called the delay unacceptable and a sign of neglect by both government and contractors. The community has vowed to continue its boycott until authorities meet their demands for fair employment and improved safety for children.

#SanCommunity #JobOpportunities #ZambeziRegion #EmploymentEquity #NdoroMemorialSchool

South Africa’s Employment Equity Act is a test:

Can we fix exclusion without creating new injustice?

Quotas alone aren’t enough. Real equity needs voice, pay, dignity, and security for all workers.
#movementmonitor, #Africanlabour #EmploymentEquity #LabourJustice #COSATU #SouthAfrica #AfCLAD

#Autistic people deserve more than just “any job” — they deserve careers where they can thrive. In our latest episode, Jade shares powerful insights on #neurodiversity, #masking, and why workplace culture matters more than ever. 🎙️

#InclusiveWorkplace #EmploymentEquity #Podcast #buzzsprout

It’s Time To Review Namibia’s Employment Equity Law In 1998, Namibia enacted a law providing measures to bring about equity in employment. While the objectives of the law and the ensuing affirmative action programme are noble, a few implementation issues are of immediate concern. Twenty-seven years since its inception, the programme appears to be blindly soldiering on in its original format. Key information on progress is either scant or non-existent. Clear time limits for achieving the programme’s objectives were not established. The crafters further opted not to have a sunset clause, making the programme a permanent governing feature.  The world moves on while the affirmative action programme remains frozen in time. This has to change. It’s time to review the scheme to make it relevant to changing circumstances, and to take concrete steps to fulfil its mission. Namibians deserve to know what aspects of the programme have worked, what has not worked, and the associated costs. Most importantly, citizens need to be apprised of the impact on workplace equity, the effect on job creation and on the competitiveness of affected businesses?  MANAGEMENT THROUGH IGNORANCE A few weeks ago, we requested the latest progress report on the affirmative action programme from the Employment Equity Commission (EEC) office.  The ‘freshest’ report they had covered the period ending 2017/18. This means that since 2018 the commission has failed to produce a report, or does not want to share up-to-date information on the current state of employment equity in the country. Equity in employment is why the commission collects data from the public and private sectors annually. Reports and actions emanating from this is the commission’s raison d’être.  At the very least, a functioning commission should produce a report annually, in which it appraises itself and informs the nation on its performance vis-à-vis its goal and targets to redress skewed employment practices. None of this information has been shared with the nation for the past six years. Without data, the commission’s efforts are akin to a hunter shooting in the air in the hope that a flock of birds crosses the sky at the right moment.  One also wonders on what basis parliament appropriates funds (N$6.7 million in the 2025/6 financial year) to the commission. This is surely not the way to spend public resources. Of more serious concern is the resources expended by both public and private sector employers in compiling reports that the commission does not appear to take seriously.  Decisions on the allocation of funds and on the continued implementation of the affirmative action programme in its current format are made without sufficient knowledge or concern for the facts or the consequences involved.  WHERE ARE WE? The 2017/2018 Employment Equity Commission annual report reveals that 924 relevant employers (those with 25 or more employees) reported 277 745 employees across all sectors during the 2017/18 review period. It is important to note that the threshold was later reduced to 25 employees in 2006 and further lowered to 10 employees in 2022, broadening the act’s scope to include smaller businesses. The report reveals under-representation of the previously racially disadvantaged at management levels (63% of the positions), while white employees, who then comprised 4% of the workforce, accounted for 29% at the same levels. The lower number of whites (7%) in the top structures of the public service compared to their near absence in all public service ranks (0.4%) is notable.  Of the 277 745 employees in 2018, 41% were employed by the central government (excluding local government and public enterprises). The percentage of employees in the public service covered by the report will most probably be much higher when figures from local government and public enterprises are added.   From the above, one discerns a massive public service in which job opportunities are dominated by black people. The massive expansion of the public sector in the central, regional and local structures, coupled with the political will to transform the civil service, is at the bottom of many job opportunities that boosted black representation in the high ranks of the public service.  The private sector ranks have not grown at a similar pace.  In his foreward to the 2018 report, the Employment Equity commissioner denounced the “white management who take employment decisions that are influenced by racial prejudice and by so doing, (they) deliberately maintain the management profile that is skewed towards the white race”. Shifting the blame is the first line of defence.  ROUTES TO EQUITY While most Namibians agree on the need for equity in employment, differences arise in the route chosen to achieve this. The crucial question is: Should equal representation be pursued through business growth or through sharing/slashing/dividing existing jobs? It is considered reasonable when an employer grants the available job in the family business to his kin – should such kin be skilled to perform the job. Don’t most of us satisfy ourselves and our immediate circles before being benevolent? However, when the business grows to a point where it requires high-level know-how in increasing numbers, the owner soon runs out of kith and kin to place in job opportunities. Family and social connections become insignificant. Unlike in the public sector, where bureaucrats have no regard for the bottom line, merit enters the equation. Henceforth, merit becomes the primary principle in the recruitment process. The applicant’s race becomes ‘nullius momenti’.  The point is: It is time that we recognise economic growth as a fitting route through which equal representation can be achieved. Trying to push for employing members from designated groups amid slow economic growth will take us nowhere. Opportunities in the private sector are created through new business or expansion of existing enterprises and not through ‘bullsh*t jobs’. BLOAT, GROWTH AND STRATEGIES Bureaucratic bloat has contributed significantly to employment equity in the public sector. (Un)fortunately, bloating is untenable in the private sector. The best the government can do to boost private sector employment is to scrap bureaucratic regulations that impede the establishment and growth of businesses.  Given Namibia’s astronomical unemployment rate, attention should be focused on growth-producing strategies. It is the provision of water, electricity, and targeted support to small and medium enterprises to grow and improve their businesses that will ultimately impact economic inequality. The transfer of jobs from whites to blacks without creating new jobs or national wealth does not increase employment. We are doomed if we clutter our vision of employment creation with an unfocused transformation agenda. Is this perhaps not the right time to carry out an evidence-based review of the law?  THE ACTUAL BENEFICIARIES Finally, we need to ask: Who actually benefits from affirmative action measures? It is not the unemployed men at Windhoek street intersections begging for whatever job is available on the day. The men at traffic intersections don’t want to take up a white man’s job. They just want a job. The beneficiaries of the affirmative action programme are the well-connected men and women who have snatched up cushy jobs in the public sector (government and public enterprises). And worse, they continue to use their connections and leverage the affirmative action law to ‘transform’ the few high-level positions in the private sector.  – Hannu Shipena and Chris Shatona from the Improvement Network Trust. The Improvement Network Trust strives to build partnerships to promote and drive positive change and improvements in education and leadership across sectors in Namibia. The post It’s Time To Review Namibia’s Employment Equity Law appeared first on The Namibian.

#Namibia #EmploymentLaw #AffirmativeAction #EmploymentEquity #SocialJustice

Quotas vs transformation — DA’s legal attack on employment equity law splits the GNU After Helen Zille called the law ‘totalitarian’ and damaging to minorities in provinces like KZN and the Western Cape, the ANC hit back, reigniting a fundamental dispute over how transformation should occur in South Africa. The DA takes Labour Minister Nomakhosazana Meth to the Gauteng Division of the High Court on Tuesday, 6 May to challenge an amendment to the Employment Equity Amendment Act (affirmative action) which it says borders on the “totalitarian”. DA Federal Executive chairperson Helen Zille said the amendment introduces race quotas rather than targets, and runs foul of the fairness prescripts of the redress laws and the Constitution. This was said on the eve of the party’s clash with the ANC minister, a fellow member of the Government of National Unity (GNU). “[The amendment] sets absolute barriers [to work, for people] for the circumstances of their birth,” said Zille in a briefing on the court action. “It’s the very opposite of redress and transformation.” The DA will argue that the draft law should have “tagged” or alerted parliamentarians to its impact on provinces by invoking section 76 of the Constitution. Section 76 governs how Bills affecting provinces must be passed, and its focus is to ensure that provincial interests are considered. “It’s unconstitutional because it is manifestly unfair to, for example, Indians in KwaZulu-Natal or coloured people in the Western Cape,” said Zille. Labour Court judgments have found that the incorrect application of employment equity laws has excluded people from so-called minority groups. “You can’t have national targets applied provincially,” said Zille. “These are totalitarian powers without a place in a democracy.” DA supporters in Cape Town gather in protest against the Employment Equity Amendment Act and the government’s newly drafted race-based water licensing rights regulations on 26 July 2023. (Photo: Ziyanda Duba) More than 1,000 DA supporters march to Parliament to protest against the Employment Equity Act Draft Regulations on 26 July 2023. (Photo: Brenton Geach / Gallo Images) Toughening up employment equity laws The amendment law aims to toughen up affirmative action measures by allowing Meth to determine “sectoral numerical targets” — specific racial percentages for specified economic sectors. Here’s what it says: “The Minister may, after consulting the relevant sectors and with the advice of the [Employment Equity] Commission, for the purpose of ensuring the equitable representation of suitably qualified people from designated groups at all occupational levels in the workforce, by notice in the Gazette set numerical targets for any national economic sector identified.” Annual Employment Equity Commission reports show that executive and senior levels of staff at companies across the economy don’t represent South Africa’s population and remain dominated by white people, especially men. Under the cosh, businesses have baulked at the amendment because it introduces yet another layer of bureaucratic compliance work for companies already creaking under the weight of the regulatory state. The Labour Department excluded companies employing fewer than 50 people after it faced a wall of opposition from small business owners who said they couldn’t cope with the cost of complying with all of South Africa’s red tape. However, DA labour spokesperson Michael Bagraim said this wasn’t sufficient to stop the amended law’s deleterious impacts on the economy, which is forecast to grow at just over 1% this year and continues to experience job shedding. Bagraim, an experienced labour lawyer, said small business owners would keep their employee numbers below 50 to avoid the new laws, which also give Meth the power to impose a fine of 10% of turnover for not meeting the target. The draft law allows 30 days for comment before the labour minister can gazette and implement a numerical sectoral target. The final nail in the GNU coffin? In four policy-related cases in a season of high lawfare, the DA is in court against the ANC, its senior partner in the GNU. President Cyril Ramaphosa, the ANC chief whip, Mdumiseni Ntuli, and the party’s caucus are incensed at the DA over this latest case against the Employment Equity Amendment Law. It was reported at the weekend that a caucus majority wants the ANC to divorce the DA. “We are not in the GNU to please the ANC or anyone else,” said Zille. She said the party would be where it could make the most significant impact (meaning either in government or opposition). On the VAT victory, the Expropriation Act (against which the DA is also in court against the government) and Bela (the education law, which almost caused a political war between the parties), she said it was better to be inside than outside. “The only people we are trying to please are our current and future voters,” said Zille, adding that DA structures and procedures could, in time, decide the party would be better served outside the GNU. Writer’s Comment: A different perspective Employment equity has been the most successful part of the network of South Africa’s black economic empowerment (BEE) laws. Without this law, which has its roots in the Constitution’s redress and transformational clauses, South Africa would not have its now sizeable black middle class. This class has fuelled growth, shifted the country’s culture and ensured remittances to the black communities left behind by derisory statecraft. Depending on which definitions you use or surveys you consult, SA now has a broad black middle class of around 8.9 million people. It’s insufficient and should be more prominent to provide further hope for the future, but without the laws, the economy would not have changed in this essential and positive way. This social shift has fuelled growth and employment as those of us who were newly middle class bought homes, kitted them out, made different lives than our forebears and cared for those left behind by the policies of the apartheid state, which linger well into the years of freedom. The net positive is clear to see. Then came State Capture and its lost decade, and South Africa tracked backwards, ending the growth years and taking a hammer to employment. The reasons workplaces would not have changed without the leverage of employment equity law and regulation span from unconscious bias to inherited network privilege to the lingering nature of racial bias and racism that are still prevalent, let’s be frank. The DA case will come across as an attack on employment equity in general, but it is being fought on a clever tactical basis. It considers the provincial impacts and fights the employment equity amendments on the grounds that they violate section 76 of the Constitution. The case will be an interesting ventilation of questions of transformation, provincial power versus national, progress, and how far (or not) we have walked on the long road to freedom. It may also sound the death knell for the GNU, as it will expose diametrically opposed differences in the how of transformation between the ANC and DA. Zille disputes any notion of the success of employment equity — though she was an adherent in earlier days when working at UCT and as a younger politician. Now more critical, she said, “What’s created a black middle class is state transformation (through black employment by the state). What we’ve built is a middle class through state preference, but it has not led to a [more] capable state. Don’t for one minute think State Capture is different.” Zille said cadre deployment, the ANC system of placing supporters in key positions in the state, was legitimised using employment equity laws. DM The post Quotas vs transformation — DA’s legal attack on employment equity law splits the GNU appeared first on The Namibian.

#EmploymentEquity #Transformation #SouthAfrica #HelenZille #ANC

To Disclose or Not Disclose?: Disability Status During the Job Application Process – Women's eNews PWDs comprise almost 23% of the workforce, yet due to underreporting, this number might actually be much higher.

Should you disclose your disability when applying for a job?

This article dives into the risks, realities, and decisions many applicants face.

🔗 womensenews.org/2025/05/to-d...

#DisabilityInclusion #EmploymentEquity #SpoonieVoices

Alaska lawmakers discuss medical debt implications on credit reporting and employment Lawmakers explore medical debt's impact on credit scores and employment decisions in Alaska

Alaska lawmakers are tackling the contentious issue of medical debt's unfair impact on credit scores and job opportunities, sparking a debate that could reshape financial justice for many.

Learn more here!

#AK #CreditReform #AlaskaMedicalDebt #EmploymentEquity #FinancialFairness #CitizenPortal

We build stronger communities when we value each individual, not just flashy titles. Talent comes in many forms — just like a hive needs all its bees. See more: bit.ly/3GunZW0 #Inclusion #DisabilityRights #EmploymentEquity #HumanRights #Neurodiversity
#WorkerBees #ThinkDifferently #GoodFaith

#AutismAcceptance
#Neurodiversity
#EmploymentEquity
#InclusiveHiring
#AutisticTalent
#BeyondTheCure
#Autism

Texas Senate proposes bill to protect military members from discrimination Senate Bill 21 04 aims to classify military status as a protected class in Texas.

Texas is stepping up to protect its heroes from discrimination, with a new bill that could change the lives of service members and their families forever.

Learn more here!

#TX #DiscriminationReform #MilitaryFamilySupport #CitizenPortal #EmploymentEquity #TexasVeterans

Cook County group highlights grassroots violence intervention and community health services Aclavus emphasizes local grassroots efforts in violence prevention and community support in Cook County.

Cook County is poised for transformative change in community safety and employment practices, driven by powerful local voices advocating for equitable solutions.

Learn more here!

#CookCounty #IL #CookCountyCommunity #CitizenPortal #EmploymentEquity #ViolencePrevention #PublicSafety

Nebraska Governor signs LB144 to enhance veterans' employment preferences LB144 amends labor provisions to expand veterans' employment preferences in Nebraska.

Nebraska has just taken a monumental step to boost job opportunities for veterans and their spouses with the passage of Legislative Bill 144, ensuring they get the recognition they deserve in the workforce.

Learn more here

#NE #CitizenPortal #EmploymentEquity #VeteransSupport

"Excited to join BlueSky! I’m the program director of AVet Career Solutions a non profit, dedicated to providing free employment services and also a match maker for a social club MatchAbilities. Here to connect, inspire, and create opportunities for all!" #Inclusion #EmploymentEquity #Community

Colorado mandates judicial record checks for individuals with unprocessed arrests New law requires name-based judicial record checks for individuals with unresolved arrest records.

Colorado's Senate Bill 146 is stirring up a heated debate over public safety and employment equity, as lawmakers push for stricter background checks that could impact marginalized communities.

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#CO #CriminalJusticeReform #EmploymentEquity #CitizenPortal

Legislation proposed to support drug rehabilitation in hiring practices New bill introduces protections for rehabilitated individuals in the workplace.

House Bill 128 could revolutionize employment practices in Ohio by protecting the rights of individuals recovering from addiction, challenging the stigma that surrounds them.

Learn more here

#OH #WorkplaceInclusion #EmploymentEquity #SubstanceAbuseReform #CitizenPortal

New definitions set for disability and gender identity in employment guidelines Employment guidelines clarify definitions related to disabilities and gender identity.

New Mexico is taking a bold step towards inclusivity with House Bill 339, redefining protections for individuals with disabilities and diverse gender identities.

Click to read more!

#NM #EmploymentEquity #DiversityProtection #NewMexicoDisabilities #InclusivityLaw #CitizenPortal