A 2014 EEOC decision was recently cited in an incident involving the Gadsden Flag. Use the link below to read more about the 2014 decision and the EEOC’s role in reviewing situations for unlawful or discriminatory acts.
- This decision addressed only the procedural issue of whether the Complainant’s allegations of discrimination should be dismissed or investigated. This decision was not on the merits, did not determine that the Gadsden Flag was racist or discriminatory, and did not ban it.
- Given the procedural nature of this appeal and the fact that no investigative record or evidence had been developed yet, it would have been premature and inappropriate for EEOC to determine, one way or the other, the merits of the U.S. Postal Service’s argument that the Gadsden Flag and its slogan do not have any racial connotations whatsoever.
- EEOC’s decision simply ordered the agency – the U.S. Postal Service – to investigate the allegations. EEOC’s decision made no factual or legal determination on whether discrimination actually occurred.
What You Should Know about EEOC and Shelton D. v. U.S. Postal Service (Gadsden Flag case)
Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Related:
For those of you interested in facts, here is the history of the Gadsden Flag (per Encyclopedia Brittanica). Its association with racism is because of a judgment by a random bureaucrat commenting on a postal worker’s EEOC complaint about a co-worker wearing a hat he was…
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