Affirmative Action Law

Be familiar with Affirmative Action Law to keep your business out of legal trouble

Originally enacted in the 1960's to prevent discrimination based on race, gender, religion or national origin, decades later Affirmative Action Law remains a contentious subject. To ensure your business doesn't end up in a legal battle you need to know the basics of affirmative action regulations in business.

Affirmative action in business differs slightly from affirmative action in other areas such as academics and public accommodations. While you can get more detailed information about the minutiae of the law from Affirmative Action lawyers, here are the basics of affirmative action in the workplace:

1. All businesses that employ 15 or more people must adhere to Affirmative Action law. This means the hiring, compensatory, employee promotion and firing practices of your business must be void of discrimination based on gender, race, religion or physical capability.

2. Temporary, full-time and part-time employees are included in the total employee count. So, if your business employs 10 permanent full time employees and five temporary employees, you still have to adhere to Affirmative Action regulations.

3. Quotas do not rule Affirmative Action regulations. It was once a widespread belief that employers must reach a certain quota of women and minority employees, this is not the case.

 

Publicly advertising new job opportunities helps ensure the adherence of affirmative action laws

The purpose of affirmative action regulations in business is to promote diversity in the workplace. When a new opportunity arises for your business, advertise it in your local newspaper or on the Internet as opposed to hiring only family members, personal friends or friends of your current employees to receive applicants from a broad range of races, genders and physical capabilities.
Try: Using human resources software from VIP Quality Software, Ltd. or Berkshire Associates Inc. makes it easier to ensure you are adhering to affirmative action laws because it generates affirmative action statistics of each applicant automatically as you enter their information into your businesses computer systems.

Ensure your business adheres to affirmative action law by developing an affirmative action plan

Having an affirmative action plan in place ensures that all of your employees are familiar with the affirmative action regulations of your company.
Try: Get help developing your Affirmation Action plan by using software from Peopleclick, Inc. and EEO Made Simple Consulting.

Train your employees in affirmative action law

Promote affirmative action and diversity in the workplace by conducting the proper employee training. Have a few affirmative action attorneys or affirmative action experts give a lecture or conduct a workshop during employee training to make sure your employees are familiar with all affirmative action regulations. Having affirmative action attorneys come in during new hire training also ensures that all questions regarding affirmative action law receive the proper answers.
Try: Find affirmative action attorneys by state from LexisNexis and affirmative action experts at eWitness.com, LLC, to give lectures or workshops during employee training.

 

• Implement a "Zero Tolerance" rule regarding discrimination in the workplace. Be sure to communicate the fact that discrimination is not tolerated at your company to everyone from line level employees to management. The more educated your employees are regarding affirmative action laws the less likely you are to have legal issues regarding discrimination.
• Employers must engage in good faith practices to ensure their available employment opportunities are open to all people, regardless of race, gender religion or physical capabilities.

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