The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit blocked a contest by a venture capital fund that provided grants and other benefits to black women-owned businesses, finding the contest is likely to unlawfully discriminate based on race under 42 U.S.C. Section 1981 (Section 1981). The decision in the case brought by an activist group that seeks to eliminate racial classifications, the American Alliance for Equal Rights (Alliance), reinforces the ongoing legal scrutiny and risk of programs that exclude certain groups based on race, even if the programs seek to address or remediate historical race discrimination.

Learn more about the implications of the ruling here, from Ogletree Deakins employment law experts (including Linda Goldman, PEG advisor).