The Civil Rights Act of 1866 is applicable to private and public employers (except federal employers) and protects all members of other ethnic groups (i.e., whites, blacks, Asians, etc…) from racial discrimination. It is unlawful to discriminate based on race in creating and enforcing all contracts, including employment contracts. The Supreme Court has explained that the statute prohibits such acts on the basis of race. “The refusal to enter into a contract with someone as well as the offer to make a contract only on discriminatory terms. [It] does not extend . . . to conduct by the employer after the contract relation has been established, including breach of the terms of the contract or imposition of discriminatory working conditions" (Alexander, 2001).

Discrimination in the workplace based on associating with people of a particular race is prohibited. For instance, if an employer fired a white employee because she had black friends, or was dating a black man, the white woman would have a discrimination suit, as to whether or not the employer is prejudiced against whites. Not only does discrimination happen against blacks and whites, it sometimes happens based upon “colo

r”. If an employer hired a “light-complexioned” black applicant with “Caucasian features” over one with a “dark complexion” and “Negroid features”, it would also constitute discrimination even though one race wasn’t chosen over another.

There was a case in 1989, involving two teachers, one black and the other white (Piscataway). In this case the Supreme Court was asked to address reverse discrimination in the private sector. The Piscataway Board of Education hired the two teachers and later decided to eliminate one of the jobs in the high school business department. The job terminated the white teacher’s position and later admitted that, “the only reason for our choice between these equally qualified teachers was that the teacher kept was black.” The Bush Administration used this case to sue the school district for discrimination. Both the U.S District Court and the Court of Appeals found that the Board of Education had unlawfully discriminated against the white teacher on the basis of race. The Supreme Court was scheduled to hear arguments in January 1998, but the case was settled in November 1997 out of court. It appears that a coalition of civil rights groups, the Black Leadership Forum, financed 70 percent of the $433,500 settlement payment by the School Board to the white teacher. Since the Supreme Court only issues rulings regarding cases actually presented before the panel, this strategy allowed affirmative action to exist and not be completely eliminated.

· offensive remarks based on race

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