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Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action and

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EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION 1

Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action and
Their Application in the Workplace
Dennis E. Edwards
Excelsior College

Author Note
Dennis Edwards is a student enrolled in Excelsior College, Human Resource Management Course

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION 2
Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action and
Their Application in the Workplace This paper is written to establish the differences of Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action as it applies to the workforce environment and the relevance thereof. As we look at the function of these two issues, equal employment opportunity is established to ensure that anyone, regardless of race, color, disability, sex, religion, national origin, or age, has an equal opportunity based on his or her qualifications. Affirmative Action ensures that employers take action in recruitment, hiring, promotions and compensation to eliminate any violation of equal opportunity. (Dessler, 2013 p.59). While Equal Employment Opportunity provides the expectation through a series of laws from the Civil Rights Act, Equal Pay Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act and others, those written laws alone does not constitute that all companies or organizations will adhere to the them. Most organizations will have an Equal Employment Opportunity policy or directive, most just reiterate the definition above that the organization will not discrimination based on race, color, disability, sex, religion, national origin or age. I think the bigger element since Equal Employment Opportunity is not sufficient, is the Affirmative Action piece of the organization. Affirmative action plan is a management tool used to ensure the equal employment opportunity laws and I believe that when used effectively can form a highly qualified and

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