Affirmative Action: Reverse Discrimination? Affirmative Action is a hot issue
in the United States, with wide differences of opinion over the correct way to
expand opportunity for people who have historically been discriminated against.
With the philosophical difference behind the legal and political tensions is
deep. One side wants a total rollback of affirmative action programs, making
individual merit the only criterion for hiring and promotional considerations.
While the other extreme wants affirmative action to be pushed until the
racial makeup of all professions mirrors the racial makeup of US society
exactly. While both these sides are to the greatest ends of the argument there
needs to be an approach to come up with a medium. This could include laws to
force companies to vigorously recruit and develop minorities for professional
and managerial jobs.
However, there should not be any outright quotas, which reserve a certain
number of slots for particular minority groups. This will cause resentments and
constitutional obstacles down the road. The objective here is not to do away
with affirmative action in one sweep, rather to seek out strategies to help
promising minorities and match them with opportunities they have rightfully
earned and deserve.
Now, what does the law say? Although Title VII has an affirmative action
component part of it, most regulations stem from a requirement imposed by
Executive Order 11246. There are a lot of misconceptions about affirmative
action and what laws companies actual have to follow.
One is that all companies are required to adhere to the laws under
affirmative action, this is not the case. Executive Order 11246 states that once
a company enters into a contract with a federal governmental agency that exceeds
$10,000 it must abide by the affirmative action rules and regulations.
These regulations include, but are not limited to, the following: to post in
a conspicuous place, available to all applicants, provisions of the
nondiscrimination clause; include in contractor's advertisements that all
qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color,
religion, gender, or national origin; include statements of these obligations to
all subcontractors; and furnish all information and reports to the Secretary of
Labor for purposes of investigation to ascertain compliance with the executive
order and its regulations.
In addition to the above regulations if a corporation enters into a contract
of $50,000 or more additional requirements are put in place.
