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150 \f Th e Constitutionalit y o f Remedia l Affirmativ e Actio n the adoptio n o f remedia l affirmativ e action . Wh y isn' t racia l cast e i n America considered a national emergency? Clearly, for those who exist in its worsening conditions, no issue is more important. For other Americans, racial caste is a disease killing their future a s well. THE POLITICS OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION : MYTH OR REALITY? For the pas t thre e decades , federa l affirmativ e actio n program s hav e ru n the gamut from outreac h an d hortator y efforts t o encourage federa l agen cies an d contractor s t o us e minority - o r women-owne d businesse s t o specific mandate s t o hir e wome n an d minoritie s consisten t wit h state d goals, timetables, an d set-asides . Accordingly, th e Communit y Reinvest ment Act requires certain banks to conduct and record efforts t o reach out to underserve d communities . Th e Foreig n Servic e maintain s a minorit y internship program . Th e Environmenta l Protectio n Agenc y sponsor s a mentor-protege progra m to encourage prim e contractors to develop rela tionships wit h smal l an d disadvantage d businesses . Th e Smal l Busines s Act require s eac h federa l agenc y t o se t goal s fo r contractin g wit h smal l and disadvantage d businesses . Th e Federa l Communication s Commis sion —until Adarand—had use d rac e and gende r a s considerations i n th e sale o f broadcas t licenses . An d th e Intermoda l Surfac e Transportatio n Efficiency Ac t authorize s th e paymen t o f subcontracto r compensatio n bonuses to prime contractors who use socially disadvantaged businesses. 98 According to a 1995 study of affirmative actio n commissioned b y President Bil l Clinton , suc h program s ar e designe d t o promot e inclusion , prevent futur e discriminatio n b y employers, and provid e employers wit h a practica l wa y t o gaug e thei r ow n progres s i n employin g minoritie s and women. " Th e Departmen t o f Labor , throug h th e Offic e o f Federa l Contract Complianc e Program s (OFCCP) , continue s t o promot e equa l employment opportunitie s amon g privat e businesse s tha t hav e federa l contracts. The provision s o f Executive Orde r 11,24 6 apply t o contractor s and subcontractors with contracts of more than $10,000 per year. OFCCP regulation s contai n separat e requirement s fo r constructio n and nonconstructio n firms. Nonconstructio n firms wit h fifty or more em ployees or contracts totaling $50,000 must develop and maintain a written affirmative actio n plan. As part of the plan, the contractor must conduct a workforce analysi s o f each job title , determin e th e workforc e availabilit y of wome n an d minoritie s fo r eac h jo b group , an d conduc t a utilizatio n analysis t o determin e whethe r wome n o r minoritie s ar e bein g underuti - The Constitutionalit y o f Remedia l Affirmativ e Actio n \f 15 1 lized. I f th e contracto r discover s tha t minoritie s o r wome n ar e bein g underutilized, i t mus t devis e way s o f overcomin g thi s an d t o mak e a good-faith effor t t o carry them out . Construction firms are not required t o maintain writte n plan s bu t mus t sho w good-fait h effort s t o mee t demo graphic goal s fo r minoritie s an d nationwid e goal s fo r women. 100 Th e Labor Department o r the OFCCP may require goals for hiring minoritie s and women, but quotas are explicitly prohibited . Given th e prohibitio n o f quotas , "goa l setting " i s use d t o targe t an d evaluate th e effectivenes s o f affirmativ e actio n effort s an d t o eradicat e and preven t discrimination . Numerica l benchmark...

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