The News: The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) and a coalition of civil rights and liberties organizations have filed a Title VII charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against the American Bar Association (ABA). This filing comes on the heels of new executive orders and directives from the Trump administration to eliminate unconstitutional discrimination and move toward a color-blind, merit-based approach.
Despite earlier warnings from our respective organizations and federal law, the ABA continues to violate Title VII through a series of programs discriminating based on race and sex in employment. Most prominently, the ABA’s programs illegally qualify and disqualify applicants for judicial clerkships it fills and funds based on these forbidden criteria.
The Quotes: WILL Associate Counsel, Skylar Croy, stated, “The ABA’s employment practices are flaunting the law and morality. Regardless of race, creed, or background, everyone should be treated equally. Despite the initial successes at the federal level, the fight for true equality is far from over. That’s why WILL has partnered with these esteemed organization to make it clear to the ABA that enough is enough.”
ACR Project Executive Director, Dan Morenoff, stated, “The plainest of black letter law forbids the ABA from deciding whom to employ based on race and sex, from deciding whom to train based on race and sex, from deciding whom to place into employment or training programs based on race and sex, or from advertising that it will do so. It’s hard to imagine a clearer case of illegal behavior or an organization that should more clearly know better.”
Additional Background: As an employer and as an institution that receives federal funds, the ABA is subject to laws prohibiting its discriminatory practices.
In May of last year, WILL filed a Title VI complaint against the American Bar Association (ABA) for several discriminatory programs, including its “Judicial Clerkship Program” and “Judicial Intern Opportunity Program,” which is cited in this new complaint.
The ACR Project and WILL anticipate that the EEOC will take corrective action against the ABA. Should it not do so, the ACR Project anticipates taking further action on behalf of FASORP to bring the ABA into compliance with American nondiscrimination law.
Read more:
- Title VII Complaint, Filed February 2025
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