Case scenario:
Mitigating barriers to black employment through affirmative action regulations: a case study Ward Thomas
Review of black political economy Winter 2000
Affirmative action regulation as a public policy to mitigate racial inequality in the labor market has been under political attack in recent years. During the 1980's, the Reagan and Bush administrations pushed for legislation to restrict affirmative action programs in employment. The reduced the budgets of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, the 2 main agencies responsible for enforcing affirmative action laws. Recent United States Supreme Court rulings have also restricted employer's use of affirmative action hiring practices by limiting the circumstances under which employers may initiate such programs. In the 1990's, opponents have attempted to eliminate affirmative action in state hiring through the passage of Proposition 209 in 1995 and Washington voters, through a similar initiative eliminated affirmative action in hiring in 1998.
This study attempts to answer the foregoing questions through an analysis of employer hiring practices in the electronics industry in Los Angeles. Many electronic companies in Los Angeles are Federal Defense contractors subject to affirmative action guidelines in their hiring. The study, based on personal interviews with hiring officials, compares and contrasts the hiring procedures of a sample of electronic companies subject to affirmative action with a sample of companies not subject to these regulations. The labor market setting of Los Angeles provides an informative context to study because Los Angeles is home to a large black population which has experienced higher rates of unemployment when compared with whites for several decades.
Is there a difference in the methods of advertising for skilled workers between Federal Contractors (n = 51) and Non-Federal Contractors (n = 43)? Use 95% level of confidence.
Types of Advertising Contractor Non-Contractor
Los Angeles Times 9.2 6.6
College Institutions 6.8 2
Trade schools 5.6 2.6
Papers outside LA 4.6 1
Employment Development Dept. 1.6 1.6
Industry Networking 7.2 8
Local paper 3.8 6.8
Temp. Employment Agency 3.2 3
In-house 3.2 3.8
Head Hunter 2 0
Out-sourcing 2 1
Employee Referral 1.6 4.8
Walk-ins 0 1
Incoming resume 0 .6