As glockrocks pointed out: “Catholics need not apply.”
This violates the Equal Opportunity Act. I may not like the act, but so long as it is in force, by God, they WILL follow it.
Robertson should hire some damned good attorneys. By the end of the month, he may own A&E.
Technically, it may not violate the Act, because the relationship between the network and the Robertsons is probably not one of employer and employee. There is some kind of contract, but I am sure it is not structured as an employment contract.
If the relationship is not one of "employment," the parties' legal rights are very different. For example, I am a lawyer; I get "hired" by clients, but I am not their "employee," so a client may legally say to me "I won't hire you because you're a Jew" (or "because you're white" or "because you're male") and no law has been broken.
Another wrinkle is that A&E has a first amendment freedom of speech right not to broadcast a show that doesn't comport with its views. A California appellate court ruled last week that a TV network could refuse to hire men for the on-air weather forecaster slot (which is an "employee") because they have a first amendment right to broadcast the kind of news show they want.