Discrimination Lawsuits in Circuit City

Affirmative action does not have a single definition, but is associated with providing opportunities to women and minorities who have suffered discrimination in the past. Through affirmative action programs in the workplace, employers actively seek out women and minorities in their recruiting practices and provide programs through which potential employees who might be less qualified than other applicants are provided employment opportunities in order to redress the imbalance of previous years. Recently, California passed Proposition 209, an initiative which repealed affirmative action in state-funded programs, including at state colleges and universities. This research examines how one company, Circuit City, experienced legal problems because it did not pay attention to maintaining a discrimination-free workplace after minority employees were hired, and offers observations on how our organization can avoid similar problems, particularly given the dynamic nature of affirmative action at this time.

Circuit City is one of the nation's largest consumer electronics retailers with operations in major metropolitan areas which have large concentrations of minorities. The company's success is based on offering low prices on brand name items, but the company suffered a significant public relations problem in the mid1990s when it was sued for discrimination against minorities. The lawsuits were eventually decided in favor of some of the plaintiffs, and a j

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ts lack of minorities in senior management positions was not due to an overt discriminatory policy on its part, but rather on a lack of qualified applicants. The argument (used by companies other than Circuit City in defending their promotional activities with regard to women and minorities) is that as additional minorities and women enter the workforce and learn the requisite skills, they will be promoted accordingly. However, according to the argument, the effects of affirmative action and aggressive minority recruiting at the entrance level are only beginning to be felt, so there remains a lack of qualified candidates for senior management. With time, according to these arguments, the situation will improve (Ramst & Lee, 1996, p. B1). Reasons for Diversity Programs According to analysts, 47.5 percent of the work force will be women by the year 2000, and 29 percent of the net additions to the work force will be non-whites (Flynn, 1995, p. 72). This means that managers and executives will be under increasing pressure to establish diversity programs which recognize that the American work force is no longer a homogeneous group of white males, but rather a diverse combination of gender and ethnicities. Employees who find compan

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