Opinion ID: 305487
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: WMAL-TV's Employment Policies and Practices

Text: 48 As the figures with respect to minority group employment submitted by WMAL-TV in its Opposition to the Petition to Deny 48 were not controverted by plaintiffs and no specific instances of refusal by WMAL-TV to hire on racial grounds were alleged, the sole question before the Commission in this regard was whether the aggregate picture presented by WMAL-TV's employment policies and practices made a prima facie case for refusing to renew the station's license. Under Section 73.680 of the Commission's Rules, television licensees are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of, inter alia, race in employment policies and practices. 49 However, as the Commission noted in an earlier case, Simply indicating the number of Blacks employed by the licensee, without citing instances of discrimination or describing a conscious policy of exclusion, is not sufficient to require an evidentiary exploration. 50 49 In that case, as in the one at bar, the affidavits of the licensee regarding recruitment of minority group members and their placement in a variety of positions, not simply menial jobs, were sufficient to rebut any allegations of discrimination in that respect. 51 50