Seattle has banned caste discrimination. Here’s how the new law works

Introduced by District 3 Councilmember Kshama Sawant, Seattle’s only elected socialist and the only Indian American on the council, the ordinance has raised questions about caste, other systems of inherited social status and how the new law will work.

What is caste?
The caste system is an ancient social hierarchy that originated with Hinduism in India. Caste is assigned at birth and rooted in concepts of so-called spiritual purity. The system has existed in some form for at least 3,000 years.

Of the five main caste groups, Brahmins, known as the priestly caste, are at the top of the hierarchy, while Dalits, formerly known as “untouchables,” are at the bottom. There are thousands of sub-castes.

India outlawed discrimination based on caste in 1948, but signs of the hierarchy are still present in South Asia and in South Asian diaspora communities.

Similar systems of inherited social status exist in other parts of the globe. Seattle’s ordinance banning caste-based discrimination would also cover, for example, the historically oppressed Roma people, the Burakumin of Japan, and Bantu and Yibir, Gabooye and Tumal communities of Somalia.

At least 250 million people worldwide face caste-based discrimination, according to a 2016 United Nations report.

What does the ordinance do?
The ordinance adds caste to the list of statuses protected under Seattle’s existing anti-discrimination policies.

It bans caste-related bias in settings including employment, public accommodation and housing.

“This legislation will allow those subject to discrimination on the basis of caste a legal avenue to pursue a remedy against alleged discrimination,” according to a city staff report.

For example, workers who say they have been discriminated against based on caste will be able to sue an employer or co-worker.

How will this ordinance be enforced?
The Seattle Office for Civil Rights, which already processes complaints and investigates claims of discrimination based on race, sex, sexuality, religion and more, will enforce the law.

Under the ordinance, the office will investigate alleged discrimination based on caste as it would other discrimination cases. Findings from an investigation could be used as part of a legal case.

The office is working through about 70 cases, with the average investigation taking between 9 to 12 months.

A representative from the office did not respond to requests for comment.

How much will it cost?
In recent years, Seattle City Council has passed similar ordinances to add new protected classes. Last summer, Seattle banned discrimination based on the real or perceived outcome of a pregnancy to protect people seeking or receiving abortions.

In a memo to the City Council before Tuesday’s vote, the civil rights office stated it would need about $100,000 in onetime funding to update policy materials to acknowledge the new protected classes established in recent years without responsive funding.

That money would help pay for new posters on public transportation, social media ads and radio announcements on ethnic outlets to promote the new civil rights protections.

The department stated it would also need about $185,000 annually to fund one additional full-time staff member to act as a business liaison and support ongoing outreach efforts.

The staff member would connect with community members — particularly business owners and housing providers — and show how to prevent possible violations and what options are available when facing a notice of violation, according to the office.

Without the funding, investigations into complaints may take longer, the office said, and staffers will not be able to conduct additional outreach around the new protected classes.

Councilmember Tammy Morales said Tuesday that City Council must address the office’s funding needs in either the supplemental budget or the annual budget later this year.

How can people tell what caste someone is?
There are a number of traits that may identify someone’s caste, such as what region or district the person’s family comes from, their surname or their diet. In India, certain occupations, such as sweeping, leather work and hard manual labor, employ an overrepresentation of Dalit people.

How many people in the U.S. identify as Dalit?
It’s difficult to determine how many people who identify as Dalit live in Seattle, or nationwide. Few studies exist tracking information about caste in the U.S., and research currently available uses contested methodologies or limited sample sizes.

About 131,000 Indians live in the Seattle metropolitan area, according to recent U.S. Census Bureau data, with about 4.8 million people in the U.S. reporting being of Indian descent.

But not all Indian Americans identify with a caste.

A 2021 study conducted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Pennsylvania found foreign-born Hindu Indian Americans were more likely to identify with a caste compared with U.S.-born Hindu Indian Americans.

Do federal laws already cover caste-based discrimination?
Sawant and other proponents of the ordinance have said existing protections against discrimination based on characteristics like race, religion or ancestry are insufficient for people facing caste-based discrimination.

Dalit advocacy groups have urged the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to recognize caste-based discrimination and to clarify that Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act explicitly bars it.

U.S. case law on caste-based discrimination and exploitation is scant, but recent lawsuits working through the courts may test whether Title VII or state laws protect against such forms of bias.

A 2020 lawsuit against Cisco Systems, which alleges a Dalit engineer was targeted by two dominant-caste managers and denied professional opportunities because of his background, is pending in California state court.

And a 2021 complaint filed in federal court accused a prominent Hindu sect that operates a New Jersey temple of forcing hundreds of low-caste workers to labor at temples across the United States for little pay and under unsafe conditions.

Why do many Dalit people not speak publicly about their experience?
Many of the caste-oppressed people who spoke in favor of the ordinance withheld some or all of their names in public comment out of fear of retaliation from current employers.

Dalit advocacy groups say discrimination involving caste can at times be pernicious, making it difficult to expose despite being painful or traumatic for victims.

Reckoning with longstanding stigma and feelings of shame, many fear speaking out could lead to retaliation or further ostracization.

Some Dalit people moved to the United States or other diaspora communities in part to escape caste-based bias and discrimination. Some people avoid sharing or discussing their status all together.

In the workplace or in educational settings, discrimination may involve more subtle forms of bias — a dominant-caste manager shunning an employee who is Dalit or classmates avoiding a Dalit student on a college campus.

Has there been opposition to this ordinance?
Opponents of the ordinance said they fear it could fuel negative sentiment toward Hindus and Hinduism, and may lead to employers hiring fewer South Asians. Some critics have also called the ordinance unnecessary or hastily created.

In a letter to city attorney Ann Davison earlier this month, the Hindu American Foundation wrote the ordinance “unfairly singles out and targets an entire community on the basis of their national origin and ancestry for disparate treatment.”

Sawant has criticized the argument that the policy would harm Hindus, likening it to the position of Christian business owners who argue they should be able to deny service to same-sex couples because of their beliefs.

“Everybody understands this is a right-wing argument,” Sawant said in a statement published before Tuesday’s vote. “Genuine progressives support freedom of religion, but also understand that that cannot be an excuse to abuse LGBTQ people or discriminate against them.”

Courtesy : Seattle times

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