Innocent Until Proven Guilty: A Critical Interrogation of the Legal Aspects of Job Fit in Higher Education

This chapter provides a foundation of employment discrimination law so that individuals who experience discrimination can determine and address the burden of proof applicable to cases of employment discrimination. Given the nature of the higher education profession, its social justice tenet, and the importance of being critical of educational and social contexts, many professionals may be challenged by their fit during the interview, hiring, and job performance stages. Critical Race Theory (CRT) is a legal-based theoretical framework that emerged in the mid-1970s as a challenge to mainstream notions of race, racism, and racial power in American society. Organizational change could manifest in various ways, including a one on-one with the supervisor or the colleagues. Student affairs professionals must recognize how their own biases can influence decision-making in hiring practices. Social justice and multi-culturalism “involve student affairs administrators who have a sense of their own agency and social responsibility that includes others, their community, and the larger global context”.