Affirmative Action Paper

Affirmative Action Paper

MGT/434

University of Phoenix

Kristoffer Hurdle

September 28, 2009

Affirmative Action Paper

The intentions of affirmative action is to provide equal and full opportunities in education, employment for minorities including women, and individuals that belong to traditional disadvantaged groups. Affirmative action has remained an issue in the United States for the past few decades as it requires businesses, educational institutions and many other organizations and groups to establish certain programs that are designed to ensure that every applicant is treated fairly. Affirmative action can also place burdens of proof on the providers of opportunities. To an extent; providers must be able to demonstrate that their grants of opportunities to a given race are not discriminatory. Affirmative action makes up of many elements as it applies to employers involved in industries related to the public and private sectors. In this paper, I will describe how the elements of Affirmative action interacts to employees within the above mentioned sectors and how it relates with the requirements of Title VII of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act. In addition to these descriptions, I will address the employers who are subject to affirmative action plans, what these plans require employers to do and the consequences should employers not meet the goals of affirmative action plans.

Public and Private Sector

Employment practices that have involved affirmative action have been an extremely controversial issue amongst the public and private sectors. Affirmative Action started as a plan to equalize employment and education for more opportunities for minorities and women that are given to their white and male counterparts. In the private sector, President Lyndon B. Johnson’s executive order allowed the Secretary of Labor the authority to construct rules that require federal contractors to take affirmative action towards eliminating...