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South Africa, Public Law Marthinus van Staden South Africa, Public Law Marthinus van Staden

When False Accusations of Racism Become Workplace Weapons

In this week’s post, Professor Marius explores a recent Labour Court judgment that exposes troubling gaps in how South African law handles false accusations of racism in the workplace. Drawing on the Solidarity obo K v Western Cape Education Department case, he argues that the court failed to recognise such false accusations as a form of racial discrimination under the Employment Equity Act. He critiques this approach, highlights the real-world consequences of the legal reasoning, and offers five key recommendations to ensure that both genuine racism and its misuse are addressed with equal rigour in the pursuit of workplace equality.

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