There was an article in the Washington Post a few days ago about Silicon Valley’s “diversity problem.” The problem is that there aren’t enough minority workers there, if you define “minority” to exclude Asians, of course. But have no fear, companies are trying hard to remedy this deficiency by hiring more African Americans and Latinos, under pressure from the likes of Jesse Jackson and his Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

Well, actually there is something to fear here. It is illegal to sort, hire, and promote people based on race, color, or national origin, as I testified to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. So one wonders how the companies’ efforts are consistent with the law — let alone with the moral principle that it is wrong to favor some and disfavor others on the basis of these characteristics. No surprise, then, that the article is a little vague on exactly how race and ethnicity get weighed in actual hiring decisions.

There are two exceptions on that point, though. The article says that Facebook has a couple of internship programs that are for “minority” individuals only. If those internship positions are paid, then making them available on a racially exclusive basis is a clear violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

The other exception is Intel’s “$300 million venture fund designated for minority-led start-ups.” Assuming that at some point a contract is entered into between Intel and the start-up, this violates 42 U.S.C. section 1981, which makes it illegal to discriminate on the basis of race in contracting.

Maybe, in addition to hiring more “minorities,” these Silicon Valley companies should also hire some more lawyers.