Logo image
Back
Appeals from Discrimination in Federal Employment: A Case Study
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Appeals from Discrimination in Federal Employment: A Case Study

Arthur Shostak
Social forces, v 42(2), pp 174-178
01 Dec 1963
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/42.2.174

Abstract

Alcoholism Case dismissal Employment Employment discrimination Federal appellate court opinions Federal employees Political parties Race relations Racial discrimination Social discrimination
Increased use by Federal employees of an appeals procedure in matters of suspected racial discrimination has given rise to controversy and concern. The writer, in the summer of 1962, examined the appeals records in 27 cases filed in the last 10 years in a Northeastern Federal manufacturing and repair center of 10,000 employees. Special attention was paid to the fact that 25 of 27 appellants were Negroes, most appeals involved failure to secure promotions, and only one appeal was decided in the appellants' favor. Analysis suggested that despite the official record of losses the procedure served the appellants in four ways: It provided a "day in court." It was a source of answers. It was a locus of hope. And it was an instrument of pressure. Similarly, the center found several uses for the procedure: It was a "safety valve." It was a spotlight on sources of friction. It was a device for correcting mis-impressions. And it was an effective check on the conduct of supervisory personnel. Overall, however, the writer concludes that the procedure is a limited tool with an essentially negative character. It must be supplemented by more positive measures if it is not to undo its own slim contribution to industrial race relations.

Metrics

4 Record Views

Details

Logo image