Affirmative Action

Historical Background

The concept that is now referred to as affirmative action originated in the Labor Management Relations Act or the Wagner Act signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935. The U.S. Congress promulgated the original legislation to protect the rights of workers in the private sector so as to organize labor unions and to participate in collective bargaining (29 U.S.C. §§ 141 et seq., 2004). Contemporary affirmative action as we have come to know it, that is, fostering positive steps to increase the representation of underrepresented groups in areas where they have historically been excluded, was not given real life until the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. §§ 1971, 1975a-1975d, 2000a-2000h-6, 1994).

The effort was further strengthened in 1965 with executive orders from President Lyndon Johnson in the area of employment; specifically Executive Order 11246 required the Office for Civil Rights to take “affirmative action” to ensure that federal contractors were not discriminating against minorities. The employment sector was likewise encouraged to reduce racial and gender discrimination with the passage of additional titles under the Civil Rights Act, notably Title VI (42 U.S.C. § 2000d (2004)) and Title VII (42 U.S.C. § 2000e (2004)), both of which forbid public and private entities, including state and local boards of education, from engaging in discriminatory activity. Armed with these legislative and executive tools, the courts and government administrative offices set forth criteria for compliance with the law or created remedies requiring compliance for those who did not or would not develop adequate affirmative action responses.

Affirmative Action in Employment