Both federal law and New York City’s Human Rights Law prohibit job advertisements that discriminate on the basis of race, sex, age, and religion, among other categories. Following the uproar caused by the original casting call, the wording was amended to read “…for the non-white characters as written and conceived…” for “Hamilton.”
Legal experts say the revised verbiage seems to be compliant with federal (and local) law, according to what’s known as a “bona fide occupational qualification” that is “reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the particular business or enterprise.”
In other words, it can be OK to discriminate in certain instances that are protected by law. The apparent problem with the original casting call is that it excluded one entire racial group from applying for the job.