Deck 19: Employment Discrimination and Affirmative Action

Question 1

Explain. Should preferential treatment be used In university admissions? Explain your answer.

Answer 1

No, preferential treatment should not be used in university admissions. Students should be admitted solely based on the strength of their academic resume, not on their demographic background. Colleges should prioritize having the brightest and best students over the most diverse ones; because every student, no matter their race or gender, has the opportunity to build an impressive college application.

Question 2

List the major federal discrimination laws and indicate what they prohibit. Which agency is primarily responsible for enforcing these laws?

Answer 2

The major federal discriminatory laws are: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, Equal Pay Act of 1963, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Section 503, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Civil Rights Act of 1991.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in hiring, promotion, discharge, pay, fringe benefits, and other aspects of employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 protects workers 40 years and older from arbitrary age discrimination in hiring, discharge, pay, promotions, fringe benefits, and other aspects of employment.
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 prohibits sex discrimination in payment of wages to women and men who perform substantially equal work in the same establishment.
Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits job discrimination on the basis of a disability.
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibits discrimination based on physical or mental disabilities in private places of employment and public accommodation, in addition to requiring transportation systems and communication systems to facilitate access for the disabled.
The Civil Rights Act of 1991 increases financial damages and jury trials in cases of intentional discrimination relating to sex, religion, race, disability, and national origin.
The agency primarily responsible for enforcing these laws is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Question 3

Give two different definitions of discrimination, and provide an example of each.

Answer 3

To discriminate means to treat an individual poorly based on demographic qualities they possess. For instance, if a manager refuses to hire a perfectly qualified African American candidate because of their race, then they are being discriminatory.
To discriminate can also mean to make distinctions between two seemingly similar items. For example, if one has a preference between one fast-food restaurant's french-fries over another's, then one has a discriminating palette.

Question 4

What effect do you think the Americans with Disabilities Act(ADA) is having on businesses? Explain your answer.

Question 5

Explain the dilemma of affirmative action versus reverse discrimination. Do you think the Supreme Court is headed in the right direction for handling this issue?