Tag: Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act

AI-driven recruitment raises critical concerns about bias, fairness and legal accountability in modern hiring practices. There is mounting foreign case law that provides both employers and Artificial Intelligence (AI) developers with significant food for thought.

Companies that are concerned they won’t be able to comply with the new Employment Equity Act needn’t be. There is a legal way around the Act’s new requirements. The Employment Equity Amendment Act (EEA) 4 of 2022 was recently signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The Constitutional Court has handed down judgment in the case of Qwelane v South African Human Rights Commission and Another [2021] ZACC 22. This seminal judgment resolves the long-standing conundrum of: (i) whether or not section 10(1) of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act 4 of 2000 (PEPUDA) is constitutional; and (ii) how the provision should be interpreted in the adjudication of hate speech complaints.

In a general South African sense, the word 'transformation' has taken on an important, but perhaps singular and distinctive meaning. To be of real economic value to the nation as a whole, transformation needs to be inclusive across a broad range of South African society.

Legislation which governs hate speech must be interpreted in line with the constitutional right to freedom of expression, and anyone who is accused, or who accuses others, of hate speech, must be treated equally without regard to their inborn characteristics.

Unfettered hate speech lends itself to unintended and severe consequences for social cohesion. We all know that hate speech and free speech are entirely different concepts, yet in South Africa what you can and cannot say as a responsible citizen or public figure remains a divisive issue.