Also known as: nondiscrimination requirements · non-discrimination requirement · non-discrimination requirements · nondiscrimination · non-discrimination
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A legal obligation or policy mandating equal treatment of persons without regard to protected characteristics such as race, sex, or sexual orientation.
The Boy Scouts organization in a coastal state maintains a policy against admitting openly gay members because it conflicts with its moral teachings. A state antidiscrimination statute orders the group to accept an applicant who publicly identifies as gay. The organization refuses and challenges the order in court.
Voters in a western state pass a constitutional amendment that prevents any city from adopting rules protecting people based on sexual orientation in licensing decisions. A local LGBTQ advocacy director sues, claiming the measure singles out one group for unequal treatment under the law.
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A Georgia motel refuses rooms to Black travelers while accepting white guests. The owners argue that Congress lacks power to force integration of private businesses. Federal prosecutors bring an enforcement action under the Civil Rights Act.
A city cancels firefighter promotion results after learning that no Black candidates scored high enough to advance. White candidates who passed the exam sue, alleging the city violated nondiscrimination rules by discarding the results solely because of racial outcomes.
A county government fires a long-time employee after learning he is gay. The employee sues under Title VII, arguing that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation constitutes sex discrimination prohibited by federal law.
A private university maintains a policy banning interracial dating among students. The IRS revokes the school's tax-exempt status for violating federal nondiscrimination policy. The university sues to restore the exemption.
A nondiscrimination command cannot force an organization to accept members whose inclusion would significantly alter its ability to communicate its chosen message. The analysis focuses on whether the group's expressive purpose is central to its mission and whether forced inclusion would undermine that purpose.
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A measure that identifies a class by a single trait and then bars all government entities from affording that class any protection in an important domain fails rational basis review. The selective disability signals impermissible animus rather than a neutral policy choice.
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A public university may not condition official recognition and funding on a religious student organization abandoning its faith-based leadership requirements. Such a condition burdens the group's free exercise rights by forcing a choice between religious practice and access to generally available benefits.
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…legal; that proposals to ban such "discrimination" under Title VII have repeatedly been rejected by Congress, see Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 1994, S. 2238, 103d Cong., 2d Sess. (1994); Civil Rights Amendments, H. R. 5452, 94th Cong., 1st Sess. (1975); that in some cases such "discrimination" is mandated by federal…