What is Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action in the U.S.?

Discrimination based on protected traits are prohibited by law

Equal opportunity eEmployment and affirmative aAction have different and opposite applications in that Equal opportunity eEmployment forbids discrimination based upon certain traits whereas affirmative action is the favoring of people based upon traits for past discrimination and is intended to counteract discrimination.

Definitions

Equal employment opportunity law is the result of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits employers from discriminating against employees or applicants based upon race, sex, national origin or religion. According to "Black's Law Dictionary," affirmative action is the act of favoring a race or ethnicity to remedy the effects of past discrimination.

Limitations

Employers are liable for employment discrimination under Title VII only if the adverse employment action is based upon the traits protected by Title VII . It is the burden of the defendant to prove that the action was not based on the trait. Affirmative action as a defense can only be used if its narrowly tailored to serve a compelling state interest.

Procedure

Complaints against employers for discrimination must be filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commision (EEOC) who will investigate and make a determination whether or not to proceed further.

References

• "Understanding Employment Discrimination"; Thomas R. Haggard; 2008
• Laws Enforced by EEOC
• "Black's Law Dictionary"; Bryan A. Garner, ed.; 2006
• "Cases and Materials on Employment Discrimination"; Samuel Estreicher; 2008