The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday voted to end affirmative action in higher education, ruling that the practice violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The ruling came in response to a pair of cases alleging racial discrimination in the admissions process. In the first case, Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard, a nonprofit group alleged that Harvard violated the federal Civil Rights Act by imposing a racial quota that keeps the number of Asian American students artificially low.
In the second case, Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina, the same nonprofit group claimed that the University of North Carolina (UNC) unfairly gave preference to Black, Hispanic and Native American applicants to the detriment of white and Asian-American applicants.
Although the high court’s decision doesn’t directly address or affect employer programs, the ruling could ultimately impact employers’ recruiting and hiring practices as well as their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. In a response to the ruling, SHRM reaffirmed its commitment to advocating for inclusive workplaces and diverse workforces.
“Whether or not one agrees with the ruling, we must all turn to the critical task of supporting higher education human resource professionals as they both comply with today’s ruling and develop innovative approaches to build better workplaces for an increasingly diverse workforce,” the HR organization said in a statement. “SHRM will always be a part of finding solutions that deliver for organizations and the people they serve.”