Some of these are employers who have very small businesses, and they are exempt from the AA requirements, so they can simply hire whoever they want to without fear of legal retribution. Those people notwithstanding, it is very important that all workers are treated fairly and given equal consideration for jobs that they apply for. There has been so much talk of AA since the Civil Rights Act and other laws were passed that there is now a concern over reverse discrimination. This happens when a white male is actually the best and most qualified candidate for the job but the employer must hire a minority candidate because there is a quota that has to be met by law. These quotas are a problem for Caucasian males because they sometimes stop them from getting jobs that they would otherwise deserve. It is not just their qualifications that have to be considered. Their race and their gender and their ethnicity come into play. Really, they should not. The AA laws were enacted so that race and gender and ethnicity, along with a few other factors, could not be consideration for refusing someone a job.

In order to make up for discrimination in the past, quotas were then set regarding how many people of a certain group had to be employed at a particular company. This was based on how many people total the company employed, how many people of a given minority were in the population of the geographical...

This may have made sense in the past when women and minorities were effectively playing 'catch-up' from past discrimination, but the ratios and quotas have generally been met for some time, and now they are causing more problems for companies and for employees than they did when they were first enacted.
Even minorities are aggravated with them because they usually do not enjoy being hired only because of their gender, ethnicity, race, or other factors. They want to be hired just like they should be hired - on the merits and ability to do the job. The goal of hiring and retaining good employees should not be based on quotas and outdated guidelines. These things should be based on the quality of the workforce. Diversity should come naturally with that, as something to be applauded. It should not be something that is forced on people in any situation, including employment. Most companies today understand the value and importance of diversity in keeping their companies 'with the times' and moving forward. They would hire women and minorities even if they did not have to, and that is the way that a company should look at hiring. They truly need to be able to hire and promote the people who are best for the job, regardless of their skin color, their gender, or where they come from.