Expert: John Fuller - 9/5/2008

Question
Case Study Issue C - Reverse Discrimination
In this discussion thread, the entire class will discuss the issues surrounding the following questions:





Do you agree that all affirmative action policies create unjust reverse discrimination? If not, which specific forms of affirmative action do you think escape this charge, and why do you think this?  

Answer
Hi Brenda,

When administered properly, an Affirmative Action plan will not create unjust discrimination.  As the Director of Workforce Diversity for Johns Hopkins Hospital, I do not use the term "reverse discrimination" because if there is discrimination it is just that.  Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based upon race, religion, national origin, color, disability, and sex.  In that context, a white person would have a case for discrimination based upon color if in fact he or she suffers an employment action by a person of a different color based upon that status.  

Affirmative Action was created largely in part with John Kennedy's remarks that we as a nation must take "affirmative actions" to ensure equal employment opportunities for every American.  That does not imply quotas.  Quotas are never used unless they are as a result of a court order to remedy proven historical discrimination.  These are very few and far between.  

When an Affirmative Action Plan is developed, there are statistics gathered from the Department of Labor, the Census Bureau, and others to determine the number of "qualified" individuals in historically underrepresented populations in a given Metropolitan Recruiting Zone.  They key word here is qualified.  The percentages are not based merely upon percentage of those populations in an area but qualified individuals for the jobs you actually have.

If for instance you have a licensed medical technician availability and the metropolitan recruiting zone states that you have 55% African American, 20% Asian American, 10% Hispanic, and 15% white availability of qualified applicants.  Your current employed number is 65% white, 20% African American, 5% Hispanic and 10% Asian American.  

You would then establish a goal to recruit applicants at the 55% African American 20% Asian, and so on.  Since the percentages are way off, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance would consider that "statistically significantly" Goals are not quotas and an establishment can still hire the best qualified candidate.  If you exceed the numbers, then there is no goal.  

Of course if you have senior leadership positions opening, you must go outside of the Metropolitan Recruiting Zone and allow for 50% National applicants.  In that situation, it is advisable to establish something like the "Rooney Rule" in the NFL that would require an applicant pool to have a qualified underrepresented category.  Again, that does not mean you have to hire the underrepresented category just have a pool that reflects the diversity of our country.  In the past that was not considered and positions were close hold.  

Now we have to recognized the vast talent of minorities that if we do not recruit, we lose valuable human capital all around.  The 2008 US Department of Labor study just released states that 80% of all incoming workers into the workforce this year will be women, people of color or immigrants.  Diversity is a state of being, inclusion a state of mind.

So Affirmative Action Plans do not create a reverse discrimination policy but actually creates a recruiting tool in which to show good faith efforts to allow for equal employment opportunity. The laws on the books protect against discrimination regardless of color.  

John