Affirmative Action

I have written about Affirmative Action on a previous blog. The current heightened media coverage, however, prompts me to do it again. Even the most liberal of media outlets do not cover this topic correctly - and it surprises me. Affirmative Action is completely misunderstood by the vast majority of US citizens. This is not opinion -- it is a fact. I am not a lawyer, but I happen to be associated with a Washington D. C. law firm that specializes in employment law. The following are facts:

• Discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin is illegal.
  [Notice that sexual preference is not a legally protected class of citizens. This is one reason gay rights is currently such a hotly debated topic.]


• So-called 'Reverse Discrimination' is also illegal. There is absolutely no distinction in the law that provides preferential treatment for anyone.


• Quotas are illegal. Quotas favoring women over men, for example, are obviously reverse discrimination. Discrimination against a white man is exactly as illegal as discrimination against a black woman. Discrimination is illegal.

Affirmative Action is designed to prevent discrimination... not institutionalize it. The Affirmative Action reporting requirements for federal contractors do sometimes result in the establishment of placement goals. These goals are based upon the percentage of minorities and females (aka 'protected classes') in the qualified labor pool using census data by geographic area and occupation, as well as, the labor pool inside the company for internal promotions. These goals are only established when the incumbent population of a protected class for a given group of employees is significantly less than the qualified labor pool. The following are facts regarding these placement goals:

• Expressed as a percentage, the goals represent the expected rate at which the protected class would be hired/promoted based upon the qualified labor pool.


• Goals are not quotas.


• Goals do not provide justification for:
  1. Extending preferences to any individual
  2. Selecting any particular individual
  3. Adversely affecting any individual's employment status on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin


• Goals may not be used to supersede merit principles

In other words, employers have the full legal right to always and only hire the absolute best qualified candidate for the job. Period! If a placement goal was not met, the employer is only obligated to demonstrate with adequate record keeping the reasons that one candidate was chosen over another. As long as these reasons are merit-based, an employer has broken no laws and has nothing to fear.

If anyone believes they have been discriminated against or been given preferential treatment because of Affirmative Action, they are factually mistaken.

If your employer has stated or behaved otherwise then your employer has acted illegally. Though I am confident in my facts here, I am also confident that the gross misunderstanding of these facts certainly extends to employers who have violated these laws. My intent here is not to deny the reality of reverse discrimination. Rather, my intent is to inform. Reverse discrimination certainly exists. Like ALL discrimination, however, it is illegal.

If you think I'm wrong, consult a good labor attorney. I'm not. If you care about facts instead of propaganda, you will spread these facts in any conversation about Affirmative Action and call out the propaganda for what it is!