Do employment affirmative action policies mean quotas?
No. In affirmative action plans, numerical placement goals are established to help guide the University in eliminating any existing under-representation of women and minorities. The University is only required to show that a good faith effort was made to attract and hire those in the under-represented groups. Quotas are not a part of employment affirmative action policies. Race- and sex-based quotas in employment originate in the legal system and are known as consent decrees. Judges mandate consent decrees when an organization has been taken to court and has been found guilty of illegal discrimination. Consent degree quotas are separate from Affirmative Action policies.
