From my previous blog post, we looked at the ongoing investigations of Harvard and Yale by the US Justice Department. This investigation, if reached to the Supreme Court, can have a massive effect on the survival of Affirmative Action. Although my last blog post talked about schools and places of higher education, we will no shift focus to employment. Today we will be looking at Affirmative Action now given this current pandemic, COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus).
On March 17, 2020, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs issued a temporary waiver of three areas of equal employment. According to the memorandum, the exemption and waiver are for three months. The waiver is to temporarily exempt and waives certain affirmative action obligations connected to supply, service, and federal construction contracts. While we are in a pandemic, there is no reason behind suspending crucial civil rights protection.
Who does this waiver apply to?
This waiver applies strictly to companies providing services, supplies, and construction to the federal government. However, this temporary waiver will exempt contractors who receive contracts from their Affirmative Action obligations. For a few contractors, this will mean that relief from its current Affirmative Action efforts, written Affirmative Actions plans, and equal employment opportunity policy statements.
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs is a civil rights agency in the United States Department of Labor. The three areas OFCCP enforces are the Executive Order of 11246 (Equal Employment Opportunity), Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Vietnam Era Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974. Each of these laws prohibits contractors from discriminating against individuals based on race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a veteran.
But, the memo does not take away the responsibility of contractors not to discriminate.
However, organizations who are committed to ensuring equal opportunity in employment, have written letters to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance, asking to rescind the memo of March 17th, 2020. Many believe that this memo will do more harm than good. To ensure equal opportunity in employment, these organizations want the OFCCP to rescind the memo. The Coronavirus pandemic is disproportionately impacting People of Color. And people argue that to help communities that are profoundly affected by Coronavirus, and we need those Affirmative Action policies—thus making the memo from March 17th, 2020, creating the opposite effect.
My Thoughts:
It seems to me when an Affirmative Action plan is removed; States try to come up with a way to enhance racial diversity. As mentioned before, the only way to ensure racial diversity is by using race-based Affirmative Action policies. Similar to colleges that ban Affirmative Action policies, and who do not have racial diversity, I feel like this policy is going to follow the same thing. Racial minorities need to be protected, and this crisis is making it worst for racial minorities. Interestingly is that the memo called for those categories to be waived, they also left it up to individuals to ensure racial diversity.
Izzy's World 