72 Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofi t Organizations
career development, discipline, and labor - management relations. In passing
the laws, Congress assumed that outlawing deliberate discrimination and
punishing employers found guilty of unfair practices would eradicate the
vestiges of years of discrimination.
Although passage of these laws meant that overt discrimination was
no longer tolerated, women and minorities were still underrepresented in
the workforce. A more assertive strategy was needed to correct for past
and existing discrimination. That strategy was affi rmative action. Executive
Order 11246 states, “ An affi rmative action program is a set of specifi c
and results - oriented procedures to which the contractor commits itself
to apply in a good faith effort. ” The objective of those procedures plus
such efforts is equal employment opportunity.
In 1965, President Johnson signed Executive Order 11246, which
prohibits discrimination in federal employment on the basis of race, creed,
color, or national origin. In 1968, this order was amended by Executive
Order 11375, in which the word creed was changed to religion and sex dis-
crimination was added to the list of prohibited types. The executive order
applied to all federal agencies, contractors, and subcontractors, including
all of the facilities of the agency holding the contract, regardless of the
location at which the work is conducted. Contractors and subcontractors
with more than fi fty thousand dollars in government business and fi fty or
more employees are not only prohibited from discriminating, but must
also take affi rmative action to ensure that applicants and employees are
not treated differently because of their sex, religion, race, color, and national
origin. Executive Order 11478 states that the policy of the U.S. govern-
ment is “ to provide equal opportunity in federal employment for all
persons, to prohibit discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex,
national origin, handicap, or age, and to promote the full realization of
equal employment opportunity through a continuing affi rmative program
in each executive department and agency. ”
Two executive orders were issued in 2000. Executive Order 13116
requires federal agencies to examine services and prepare a plan to
“ improve access to federally conducted and federally assisted programs
and activities for persons who, as a result of national origin, are limited
in their English profi ciency. ” Executive Order 13171 requires the head
of each executive department and agency to establish and maintain
a program for the recruitment and career development of Hispanics in
federal employment. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Vietnam
Veterans Readjustment Act of 1974 also require federal contractors
or subcontractors to take affi rmative action for the employment and