The Yeoh Tiong Lay Centre for Politics, Philosophy and Law is delighted to host Professor Scott Altman for the fourth workshop in the 2024/25 KJuris programme.

Title

If Your Morals Make You Discriminate at Work, Change Jobs

Abstract

Can avoiding complicity ever justify discrimination? Some people say complying with discrimination laws makes them complicit in acts they view as sinful, such as same-sex intimacy. This paper argues for taking complicity claims seriously but rejecting most complicity-based discrimination requests.

Non-complicity often deserves legal protection because it is a valuable part of living with integrity—conforming actions to one’s values. However, conscience-based objections cannot automatically exempt people from laws. This article canvases and rejects three approaches to confining the scope of exemptions. One approach says we should reject conscience-based claims that rely on unreasonable views. A second says we should deny such claims if they harm an identifiable group. A third is to minimize harm, offering exemptions when they prevent more significant harm than they cause.

I argue that conscience-based exemptions are part of a system of reasonable cooperation. Insisting that the terms of cooperation rely on public reason can resolve complicity-discrimination disputes. Appealing for someone’s cooperation to help you avoid complicity with their alleged sin asks them to accept self-denigrating reasons. Such reasons are not proper terms for social cooperation. Moreover, non-complicity rarely requires letting people discriminate. Most exemption seekers can avoid complicity without discriminating; they can change jobs or business models. Because their non-complicity requests violate the requirements of public reason, we should demand that they opt for those non-discriminatory means of avoiding complicity.

Author Bio

Scott Altman is Virginia S. and Fred H. Bice Professor of Law at the University of Southern California. His research areas include moral and legal issues in family settings (including child custody, child support, adoption, parental licensing, parental rights, and divorce negotiations). He has also written about discrimination and non-complicity, sexual harassment NDAs, blackmail, boycotts, fiduciary duties, and the right to an open future. He is currently working on papers about vulnerability in intimate relationships and discrimination based on political views.