Legal Aspect of Affirmative Action Essay - 1288 Words

Affirmative action programs are often misunderstood. Each person has their own idea of what affirmative action really entails. This paper will provide an overview of the legal aspect of affirmative action. The differences between affirmative action programs and equal opportunity legislation will be explained. The positive arguments will be presented along with the negative arguments. The affects affirmative action has on the society of the United States will be analyzed. Finally the reactions of beneficiaries of affirmative action will be discussed. Affirmative action has many definitions and can be approached from multiple viewpoints. The controversy surrounding affirmative action can be linked to misunderstandings of†¦show more content†¦The federal government, all private organizations that do business with the federal government, such as contractors, all fall under Executive Order 11246 if they have 50 or more employees and hold a federal contract worth 50 thousand dollars or more. Affirmative action does not include specific quotas. In fact Supreme Court rulings have forbidden quotas of preferential treatment. Affirmative action plans include monitoring of the workforce to scrutinize statistics for underrepresented gender or ethnic groups. If violations are found then an affirmative action plan will be implemented to correct the violation. Policies are reviewed and goals are established. An action plan is implemented to achieve these goals and preventative measures are put in place. (Crosby, Iyer, Clayton, Downing, (2003) Affirmative action is an active plan with the goal of equal opportunity. Equal opportunity is a passive policy. Equal opportunity legislation prohibits the â€Å"intentional discrimination on the basis of race, gender, religion, or national origin.† (Crosby et al., 2003, p. 94-95) The removal of discrimination results in equal opportunity for all without the need for action. Affirmative action actively examines the equality of opportunity and when inequalities are found a plan of action is implemented to eliminate the problems and establish equality. The federal government is the largest affirmative employer, employing 20 percent of the nation’sShow MoreRelatedDifferences Between Equal Employment Opportunity Initiatives, Affirmative Action Initiatives and Diversity Initiatives in Organizations1120 Words   |  5 Pages(Wisconsin Work Force Planning) Differences between Equal Employment Opportunity initiatives, Affirmative Action initiatives and Diversity initiatives in organizations Tim Piper Issues in Human Resources Management – MBA 910 February 14, 2012 To best understand how affirmative action (AA), equal employment opportunity (EEO) and diversity work together, I will take a look at each of them and how they interact with each other and also explore the differences of the three initiatives . 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