Labor

During World War II, minorities seeking jobs in war industries faced discriminatory hiring practices. In 1944, the New York State Temporary Commission on Discrimination, which had been tasked with studying discrimination and making legislative suggestions, reported that the “lack of equal employment opportunity for minority groups the most economically wasteful and socially dangerous form of discrimination...”
The Law Against Discrimination, passed March 12, 1945, aimed to prevent and eliminate the practice of discrimination in employment against persons because of race, creed, color, or national origin. It was the first law of its kind in the nation, preceding the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by nearly two decades.

 

 

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