Columbia University Employment Office Forced to Abide by N.Y. Anti-bias Law

The State Commission Against Discrimination has denied the claim of Columbia University that its employment office is exempt from the provisions of the Ives-Quinn anti-discrimination law, the American Jewish Congress, which initiated the action against Columbia, was informed today.

Shad Polier, vice-president of the American Jewish Congress, pointed out today that SCAD’s decision eliminated a last legal loophole for bigoted employers who wished to evade the law. It also established a precedent that all employment offices run by charitable and educational institutions must obey the anti-discrimination law, he said. Mr. Polier further revealed that he has been informed that Columbia will now voluntarily remove the illegal questions from their employment application blanks, which ask the applicant’s race, religion and nationality.