NCJ Number
156021
Date Published
1995
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This paper provides an overview of the major executive, legislative, and judicial developments of affirmative action plans, programs, or policies in the area of employment, contracting and licensing, education, and housing.
Abstract
This paper defines "affirmative action" as "any measure, beyond simple termination of a discriminatory practice, that permits the consideration of race, national origin, sex, or disability, along with other criteria, and which is adopted to provide opportunities to a class of qualified individuals who have either historically or actually been denied those opportunities and/or to prevent the recurrence of discrimination in the future." Regarding executive action pertinent to affirmative action in employment, Federal Executive Order 11246 is perhaps the paramount source of Presidential sponsored affirmative action in employment, having consolidated and extended to women Executive Order 10925, barring employment discrimination by Federal contractors and subcontractors, and Executive Order 11114, applicable to the construction industry. The Civil Rights Act of 1991 expressly preserves lawful affirmative action plans, leaving to the courts the determination of the proper parameters of such plans. Rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court have held that under both Title VII and the Constitution, affirmative-action remedies may properly benefit members of a protected class who are not proven victims of discrimination. Regarding affirmative action in contracting and licensing, Executive Orders that have attempted to include minority and women-owned businesses in government contracting have been issued since 1969. Legislative and regulatory provisions designed to effectuate that goal have followed. Under current caselaw, Federal initiatives may be adopted and implemented more freely than may those proposed by State and local governments. Executive Orders and other presidential documents have addressed racial discrimination in education since the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, prohibits both race and sex discrimination in public education. The Federal executive branch initially endorsed racial segregation in housing, but beginning in 1962, Executive Orders have espoused nondiscrimination in housing and encouraged affirmative efforts to facilitate fair housing opportunities. 136 footnotes