I was looking at an employment ad online and I saw something interesting...
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
CUNY encourages people with disabilities, minorities, veterans and women to apply. At CUNY, Italian Americans are also included among our protected groups. Applicants and employees will not be discriminated against on the basis of any legally protected category, including sexual orientation or gender identity. EEO/AA/Vet/Disability Employer.
Location: Lehman College
Job Title: Custodial Assistant (Hourly)
* I never saw Italian Americans listed as a protected group before. I was trying to figure out how?
* New post-- I just found an article as to why.
http://attenzalaw.com/are-italian-americans-a-protected-class/
Are Italian-Americans a Protected Class?
Posted by: Karen Lundquist
The City University of New York (CUNY) thinks that Italian-Americans are a protected class and as such, deserving of affirmative action, according to a NY Times article published earlier this week. CUNY is the only university that has awarded Italian-Americans this classification and has promised special efforts to recruit, hire and promote them. This past June, members of the Italian-American group issued a “blistering report [on discrimination] the size of a phone book. In July, one employee filed a federal discrimination lawsuit, and some state lawmakers are pushing for hearings this fall into what they see as blatant ethnic bias.”
The declaration that Italian-Americans are a protected class was made in 1976 after pressure from Italian-American legislators in Albany, who were responding to complaints of bias from the faculty and staff. CUNY has denied any discrimination towards Italian-Americans or any other protected class, but outside arbiters have largely upheld claims that Italian-Americans are underrepresented in university jobs, basing their conclusions in part on facts such as the percentage of Italian-Americans on staff and faculty at the university — constant at 5-6% over the past three decades. In contrast, the numbers of blacks, Latinos and Asians has climbed over that same time.
Some are skeptical of the claims, especially with Italian-Americans being the largest ethnic group in New York. Italian-Americans also include a New York state governor and two US Supreme Court justices. Should Italian-Americans be a protected class, or is this just another effort of a group to exploit past discrimination to gain an advantage over others?
* I just learned something new today, who knew?*
= new reply since forum marked as read
