Unlawful discrimination – some misconceptions about discrimination in employment

From time to time a client or a seminar attendee will ask me a question along the lines of "What's the problem with discrimination? I discriminate in business all of the time, every time I make a choice or a decision. I need to do that to do what is best for the business."

In one use of the word "discriminating", of course, this is true: good judgment – or "being discriminating" in that sense - is necessary when the choice is made to appoint one person over another as being the best person for the job, or decisions are made during the course of employment. However, the critical point is that the judgment should not be unlawful discrimination (a use of the word in a different sense) because of a person's sex, ethnic background, or disability for example.