Employment Law: Affirmative Action.
INSTRUCTIONS: Read the post below and provide added value or a different perspective to what the student has already added. Use three additional sources and be sure to add a reference page. Affirmative Action is often mis characterized as a racial mandate of entitlement. This is often predicated by the basic view that African-Americans are getting something others are not, just because they are African-American (Bennett, 2014). Sure this rough narrow view of Affirmative Action would make anyone angry, if it were a true representation of the context of the issue. Affirmative Action is meant as a means of intentionally including in the workplace groups that have been historically disadvantaged underrepresented. When the law was introduced employers every ware struggled to ensure that they had in place programs that showed goals and timetables of when they would be compliant in adding excluded workers to the workforce. If the they did not have a plan they could have been found as practicing discrimination, while failing to reach a goal is not considered discrimination especially if the employer can show “good faith” efforts to reach this goal. This has led to the stigma of quota systems in which quotas drove hiring practices and created an environment of dividing people further. When I was with FedEx, we were given data of the overall diversity level of our individual departments. While not directed to hire a certain class of candidate, it was made clear when you should hire a minority or a female. To overcome this type of practice and avoid the stigma or quotas, employers need to develop a culture of diversity and inclusion that helps employers move mast hitting goals in hiring women and minorities into the workplace. Ensuring that your workforce is provided the tools that they need to be productive through diversity and inclusion programs become an effective defense against Affirmative Action suits. Use this as one of the sources. Bennett-Alexander, Dawn, Hartman, Laura. (12/2014). Employment Law for Business, 8th Edition