Apr 19, 2010

The U.S. Census' new controversy


The practices of the U.S. Census Bureau are once again the subject of scrutiny. While where prisoners should be counted remains a controversy, the U.S. Census Bureau must now counter a federal lawsuit. On April 13, the legal firm Outten & Golden LLP, and their co-counsel, including the Community Serice Society of New York and the Center for Constitutional Rights, issued a press release announcing the federal lawsuit intiated on behalf of thousands of minorities rejected for jobs by the U.S Census Bureau during this years massive hiring campaign due to "systematic discrimination." The suit alleges that "the Census Bureau unlawfully screens out job applicants who have arrest records. . . by discarding the names of applicants whose names turn up in an FBI database." Because African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans are "far more likely to have arrest convictions as whites" the suit alleges that [the] Census's hiring policies discriminate against people of color in violation of the Title VIII of the Civl Rights Act. To read more about the suit, visit www. censusdiscriminationlawsuit.com.