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Affirmative Action
Diana Clark
HRM/240
May 22, 2011
Claudia Garrett
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Affirmative Action
It has been brought to my attention that your companies XYZ, have no minorities and
few women in your managerial positions. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC) requires every applicant and employees be giving the same opportunity for a job,
regardless of his or her race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or age. Company XYZ should
implement an affirmative action policy that should comply with all EEOC laws and regulations.
President John F. Kennedys Executive Order (E.O.) 10925, in 1965, used affirmative action for
the first time, to ensure that applicants are treated equally. The EEOC, which was established by
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination, began operating in July
2, 1965. The Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 enforces the following federal statutes:
Title VII, Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, The Equal Pay Act of 1963. The
mission of the EEOC is to eradicate employment discrimination at the workplace (WorkWorld,
2010). Affirmative action is in place to correct areas of past discrimination. The law forbids
discrimination concerning any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job
assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits, and any other term or condition of
employment (EEOC, 2010). Since your company has federal contracts over $50,000, The Office
of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) requires that your company implement an
affirmative action policy. If an affirmative action policy plan is not devised, XYZ can lose their
federal contracts. The OFCCP provides specific guidelines and goals to ensure that there is a
balanced and representative workforce. Specifically, employers must provide an organizational
profile that graphically illustrates their workforce demographics, establish goals and timetables
for employment of underutilized protected class, develop actions and plans to reduce
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underutilization, including initiating proactive recruitment and selection methods, and monitor
progress of the entire affirmative action program (Bohlander, Snell 2007). In addition, the EEO
does provide basic steps in developing an effective affirmative action program. Some of the steps
include appoint someone with authority and responsibility to implement the program, survey
present minorities and female employment, develop goals and timetables, and establish an
internal to audit evaluate progress. Not possessing an affirmative action plan will put your
company in jeopardy of discrimination, and this can lead to a lawsuit. Having an affirmative
action plan, you may also be accused of reverse discrimination. This does put your company in a
catch 22situation, on having an affirmative action plan or not having one, but laws require
knowing the legal aspects of hiring practices. Employers are permitted to discriminate against
selected protected classes when hiring preferences are a reasonable necessity, constituting a bona
fide occupational qualification for normal business operation (Bohlander, Snell 2007). As in the
case of the University of California Regents v Bakke (1978). Allen Bakke, a White male,
charged the University of California of reverse discrimination. Allen Bakke, believe that the
university was admitting minority groups who he believes were less qualified them him. The
Supreme Court ruled in the case that applicants must be evaluated on an individual basis, and
race can be one factor used in the evaluation process as long as other competitive factors are
considered (Bohlander, Snell 2007). The Supreme Courts stated that affirmative action programs
were not illegal per se as long as rigid quota systems were not specified for different protected
classes (Bohlander, Snell 2007).Please be advised that having an affirmative action plan is
necessary for your company. Affirmative action provides equal opportunity to all employees.
Having an affirmative action plan does not mean you have to hire or promote an employee if
they are not qualified; the goal is to have a balanced workforce. You want the best people,
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regardless of race, age, or gender working for your company. Your job is to locate minorities
and female employees qualified for the job, and those who with a reasonable amount of training,
can be made to qualify for the job openings. Please review the enclose insert of establishing an
affirmative action program, so you can keep your federal contracts.
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References
(2010). Equal employment opportunity commission. Employment Support Institute
School of Business. Retrieved from
http://wwwworkworldorg/wwwebhelp/equal_employment_opportunity
(2010).U .S. Equal employment Opportunity commission. U.S. Equal employment
opportunity commission homepage. Retrieved fromhttp://www.eeoc.gov/ Bohlander, G.W., &
Snell, S.A., (2007).Managing human resources (14thed). Florence, KY:Thomson Learning
Higher Education.
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