Affirmative Action: Elements, Features, And Controversies 'Affirmative action', as we know it today, was first utilized by President Kennedy in an executive order directing contractors engaged by the federal government to see to it that applicants and employees were treated with no reference to their national origin, color, creed, or race (Nebraska Advisory Committee, 1979). Affirmative action collectively refers to those policies and actions meant to cushion historically-excluded and underrepresented groups from discrimination, especially in relation to education and employment (Nebraska Advisory Committee, 1979). In learning institutions, affirmative action refers to admission policies that offer minority groups equal access to education facilities. Though highly attractive in their original form, affirmative action programs have come under serious criticism, with critics accusing them of reverse discrimination, and equating them with quotas meant to artificially bring about proportional representation in the workforce.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlaws all kinds of discrimination in the employment processes and terms/conditions of employment (USCCR, 2000). The prohibition covers employers who have at least 15 employees, with Section 703(a) terming it illegal practice for any such "employer to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin"(USCCR, 2000). The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was set up and tasked with enforcing the provisions of the Civil Rights Act by investigating any suspected or alleged acts of employment discrimination (USCCR, 2000). Its jurisdiction encompasses labor organizations, educational institutions, employment agencies, private employers, and local, state and federal entities, and their subunits (USCCR, 2000).

Affirmative Action

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes it illegal for those offering jobs to discriminate against job seekers and employees from minority groups. In other words, it accords equal employment opportunity to all. The USCCR (2000) defines equal employment opportunity as "the affirmative practice of affording identical employment opportunities for similarly qualified individuals" (n.pag). Affirmative action programs refer to the positive steps that set out equal employment opportunity...

They are used by employers to promote equal employment opportunity, and are usually "established to identify, recruit, promote, and/or retain qualified women, members of minority groups, and the people with disabilities in employment opportunities" (USCCR, 2000). To this end, affirmative action programs encourage employers to show preference for employees from minority groups; and assist in adding balance to industries that traditionally had statistical imbalances (Nebraska Advisory Committee, 1979). The legal profession is one of the most significant target areas for affirmative action programs, having been dominated by white males for most of the country's history.
Employers Subject to Affirmative Action Programs

Affirmative action undertakings are reviewed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in the case of unions, public, and private employers; under Title VI I in the case of private or state recipients of federal funds; and within the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment in the case of government agencies (Nebraska Advisory Committee, 1979). President Lyndon Johnson's Executive Order 11246 expanded the coverage of affirmative action programs to include private/state contactors receiving federal funds (USCCR, 2000). The compliance of such contractors is monitored and enhanced by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) in the Department of Labor (USCCR, 2000).

Such laws as the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Title VII apply to not only local, but also state governments and a number of other entities such as employment bureaus, as well as job offerors with 15 or more employees (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2012). Private organizations with 20 or more employees are required to participate in affirmative action programs under the Age discrimination in Employment Act (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2012). Executive order 11246 requires government contracting agencies "to take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed and that employees are treated in employment without regard to national origin," sex, race, or religion (USCCR, 2000). The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, for instance, requires such contractual agencies to engage in affirmative action for individuals with disabilities (USCCR, 2000).

Organizations with less than 15 employees are not covered by federal laws regarding discrimination, and are, hence, not subject to affirmative action…