3 ms·

I agree that it is unwise to blanket-reject any humanities major. But I'm at a loss for what legal reasons you are referring to (IAAL). Although political party

I agree that it is unwise to blanket-reject any humanities major. But I'm at a loss for what legal reasons you are referring to (IAAL). Although political party/activity is a protected attribute in some states, I don't think college major is protected anywhere. I can't imagine that it could be protected, since nearly every employer filters applicants based on major for at least some jobs. The only argument I could imagine is that major is a proxy for political belief, and that using it as a pretense is illegal. This would be pretty tough to prove, especially since many people who major in STEM disciplines are politically aligned with humanities majors. What am I missing here?

lapcat 4y ago
> What am I missing here? I'm not suggesting that humanities majors are a protected class. I am suggesting that it's legally problematic for job postings to lie about the job requirements. For example, if it says "Bachelor's degree in CS or equivalent experience", but the company flat out rejects all applicants without a CS degree, regardless of experience.
- gnicholas 4y ago
  Ah, gotcha. I'm not sure if they post descriptions like the one you hypothesized, but even if they did I don't think that would be actionable. For example, there are plenty of prestigious law firms that require "a JD and X years of experience", but in reality never hire outside the top 10 schools. I don't think they could be sued for not explicitly saying that no one outside the top 10 ever gets hired. Also, in your example they aren't lying, since they apparently accept non-CS majors (just not humanities) with the relevant experience. I could be wrong though — I'm not an employment lawyer.