Affirmative Action

Affirmative Action

Affirmative action is a policy or a program of giving preferential treatment to certain designated groups allegedly seeking to redress discrimination or bias through active measures, as in education and employment. Proponents of affirmative action generally advocate it either as a means to address past or present discrimination or to enhance racial, ethnic, gender, or other diversity. However, opponents of affirmative action contend that affirmative action programs promote under-qualified individuals over higher qualified individuals, based on factors, such as race and ethnicity (2007). In the United States, affirmative action mostly applies at transition points, times when individuals are changing their employment, housing or enrollment.

Those most affected thus include working age adults who hope to improve their lot through a change in obtaining housing, employment or the pursuit of educational opportunity. This arrangement has the greatest impact on young people, while maintaining the status and position of established members of society. This overall framework was established by Presidential Decree in March, 1961 by President Kennedy, but has evolved significantly. For federal contractors and subcontractors, affirmative action must be taken by covered employers to recruit and advance qualified minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and covered veterans. Affirmative actions include training programs, outreach efforts, and other positive steps. These procedures should be incorporated into the company's written personnel policies. Employers with written affirmative action programs must implement them, keep them on file and update them annually (US Dept of Labor, 2002).

Non-construction (service and supply) contractors with 50 or more employees and government contracts of $50,000 or more are required, under Executive Order 11246, to develop and implement a written Affirmative Action Program (AAP) for each establishment. The regulations define an AAP as a set of specific and result-oriented procedures to which a contractor commits itself to apply every good faith effort. The AAP is developed by the contractor to assist the contractor in a self-audit of its workforce. The AAP is kept on file and carried out by the contractor; it is submitted to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Program (OFCCP) only if the agency requests it for the purpose of conducting a compliance review.

The AAP identifies those areas, if any, in the contractor's workforce that reflect utilization of women and minorities. The regulations at 41 CFR 60-2.11 (b) define under-utilization as having fewer minorities or women in a particular job group than would reasonably be expected by their availability. When determining availability of women and minorities, contractors consider, among other factors, the presence of minorities and women having requisite skills in an area in which the contractor can reasonable recruit.

Based on the utilization analyses under Executive Order 11246 and the availability of qualified individuals, the contractors establish goals to reduce or overcome the under-utilization. Good faith efforts may include expanded efforts in outreach, recruitment, training and other activities to increase the pool of qualified minorities and females. The actual selection decision is to be made on a non-discriminatory basis.

OFCCP has established a distinct approach to affirmative action for the construction industry due to the fluid and temporary nature of the construction workforce. In contrast to the service and supply affirmative action program, OFCCP, rather than the contractor, establishes goals and specifies affirmative action which must be undertaken by Federal and federally assisted construction contractors. OFCCP issued specific national goals for women. The female goal of 6.9 percent was extended indefinitely in 1980 and remains in effect today. Construction contractors are not required to develop written affirmative action programs. The regulations enumerate the good faith steps construction contractors must take in order to increase the utilization