Equal Employment Discrimunity And Affirmative Action: A Case Study

Many efforts, both reactive and proactive, have been enforced by the government, such as equal employment opportunity and affirmative action, as a way to try and minimize discrimination from occurring in the workplace (Naff, Riccucci, & Freyss, 2014). Discrimination can best be defined as the unlawful treatment of an individual or group based upon certain characteristics, such as, race, rather than individual merit. Although major strides have been made in recent decades, discrimination is still a major and prevalent issue in society today as it was in the past. In this paper, I plan to address discrimination issues through a case study, as they are still present in society, regardless of laws that have been passed to suppress this behavior.

According to Naff et al., equal employment opportunity, can be defined as, “a way to prevent discrimination from occurring in the workplace” (2014, p.321). Under equal employment opportunity it seeks out to be reactive by allowing individuals in the opportunity to a formal complaint process if they feel they have been discriminated against under the protections of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII (Naff et. al, 2014). According to Naff et al., “…Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964…prohibits discrimination of the basis of race, color, religion, gender, and national origin in public and private workforces” (2014, p. 321). In comparison, affirmative action, according to Naff et al., can be defined as “proactive efforts to diversify the workplace in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, and even physical ability” (2014, p. 321). However, neither EEO or affirmative action ever offered protection to an individual based upon their sex (Naff et al.,

State and local government employees would later be extended the protections offered by Title VII through the passage of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 (Naff et al., 2014). Anti-discrimination laws based upon an individuals age and disability were also extended through the passage of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 and Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Finally, The Civil Rights Act was once again amended by Congress in 1991, bringing the act to its current state today. According to Naff et al., the newly amended act, “overturned several negative U.S. Supreme Court decisions issued in 1989 on EEO and affirmative action; established a Glass Ceiling Commission to study the artificial barriers to the advancement of women and persons of color in the workplace” (2014, p.