AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: THE LAW

Abstract

This is a review article on the complex and often misunderstood topic of affirmative action. This article reviews the origin of affirmative action, the nature of the plans, and the surrounding legal network. A subsequent article will address contemporary problems and issues. Affirmative action has been with us for nearly 40 years. Interestingly, it was initially intended to be a temporary measure to redress past discriminatory practices [1]. However, like many government programs, it seems to have become a permanent fixture of public policy. But periodically, the nation revisits and debates the value of this divisive issue. This is just such a period, as affirmative action is once again near the foreground of the nation’s conscience, at least partially due to the recent Supreme Court decisions dealing with the University of Michigan’s controversial affirmative action plans (AAPs). In June 2003, the Supreme Court upheld the Michigan Law School’s AAP and struck down its undergraduate AAP [2, 3]. The public interest and furore created by these decisions provides an opportunity to reexamine the legal principles that directly affect at least 190,000 establishments employing more than 22,000,000 workers [4]. This reexamination is of particular importance, since there is a great deal of misunderstanding and confusion as to the definition and practice of affirmative action. Many wrongly believe that affirmative action involves only hiring quotas