How to Justify Affirmative Action in the Workplace

Ever since the US Supreme Court’s decisions last spring about affirmative action in college admissions, advocates of diversity in the workplace have wondered about the implications for employment. The recent lawsuit challenging an apprenticeship program designed to expand opportunities for people of color is likely to give us more data. And although many in the civil-rights community are understandably wary, I think there’s a fair chance the program survives the challenge. If it doesn’t, we’ll wind up with a peculiarly unpleasant chicken-and-egg problem.

The suit was filed against Meta Platforms Inc. and two other defendants on behalf of James Harker, an experienced lighting technician who claims that he’s been denied an opportunity to work on a commercial because he is White. In particular, he alleges that the “Double the Line” minority apprenticeship program violates his rights against employment discrimination. Under DTL, as it is known, the producer who is shooting a commercial agrees to select a member of a racial minority for a short-term paid post learning alongside the crew member who already has a budget line; hence the name of the program.