'If it has not yet affected your HR staff, it probably will within the foreseeable future,' says law
As a bill addressing caste discrimination in the state of California awaits a final reading this month, an employment lawyer says HR professionals should educate themselves on the nuances of the issue, because increased litigations may be coming.
In recent years, caste discrimination has emerged as a growing workplace discrimination issue largely in the tech industry. And the definition of caste and whether it warrants protection under California’s anti-discrimination laws has been hotly debated in the state legislature since the bill – SB 403 – was introduced in February 2023.
HRD spoke with Joy C. Rosenquist, Sacramento-based employment lawyer with Littler Mendelson P.C., to understand the implications for HR professionals.
“It's clearly an emerging workplace relations issue,” Rosenquist said. “If it has not yet affected your HR staff, it probably will within the foreseeable future, because I don't think this is limited to the tech industry.”
What is caste discrimination?
HR needs to start educating themselves on what caste is, and issues implicated by caste, Rosenquist said.
“It is a nuanced and complex social relations issue. It is a tough dispute to get involved in.”
The bill in question defines caste as “an individual’s perceived position in a system of social stratification on the basis of inherited status… [C]haracterized by factors that may include, but are not limited to, inability or restricted ability to alter inherited status; socially enforced restrictions on marriage, private and public segregation, and discrimination; and social exclusion on the basis of perceived status.”
Although not stated in the language of the bill, its author, Aisha Wahab — senator of California’s 10th district which includes parts of Silicon Valley — clearly identified the South Asian community as the main reason for the need for legal caste protection, and the Dalit (formerly known as “Untouchables” in India) as the most commonly victimized group.
“Caste systems exist across the globe and have a long-standing existence in California that predates the waves of migration from South Asia,” Wahab said in her comments to a judiciary committee. “In my district, I continue to hear about caste discrimination experienced by Dalit women which affirms the importance of this bill. Adding caste to existing protections increases access to resources, cultural competency for agencies and organizations, and empowers individuals experiencing caste discrimination.”
Because of litigation involving Dalit tech workers in Seattle, earlier this year the city became the first jurisdiction in the world to create an ordinance officially banning caste discrimination. If passed, SB 403 will make caste-based discrimination illegal across the whole state. It will also see the category added to California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act, the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), and the Education Code.
Caste discrimination in tech industry
The tech industry is a large employer of skilled workers who are hired through the H-1B skilled worker visa – according to Statista, in 2020, 74.9% of H-1B recipients were from India.
A 2016 U.S. survey conducted by Equality Labs, a main sponsor of SB 403 according to the judiciary committee, reported that “Two out of three Dalits surveyed reported being treated unfairly at their workplace.”
“Caste is primarily seen as an issue in the tech industry, because India has become the technology sector’s primary source of skilled foreign labor workers,” said Rosenquist.
“With that comes this notion that they're bringing ideas of caste with them into the workplaces here in California, in particular, as a hotbed of technology and innovation… the argument is that it's weaving its way into employment decisions on hiring, promotions, transfers, projects being awarded. It's starting to wind its way through the technology sector enough that it's leading to litigation.”
Caste discrimination an emerging issue for HR
Amendments are awaiting a third reading in the legislature once it returns from summer recess on Aug. 14, 2023. Whether or not the bill ultimately passes during this session, HR professionals still need to prepare themselves to deal with caste discrimination, as the issue is not going away, Rosenquist says.
“When I’ve read the reports, it looks like there's indicators of caste that are affecting these particular people — like the name of the hometown they're in, or a special diet that they might be eating, their last name, a type of religious practice that they engage in. Those are indicators of the region they're from, which is then associated with caste,” Rosenquist said.
“In terms of hiring, as long as you have a variety of diverse panel members that are doing the hiring and not just one individual person making that decision, you're going to get different perspectives on candidates … you're less likely to see an improper decision. But my number one piece of advice is to educate yourself on these social issues.”
