Minorities and ethnic groups have always been an important part of the U.S. labor force. In many instances groups were allowed, or even encouraged, to immigrate to the United States to fill specific labor needs. Perhaps the most obvious example is the involuntary immigration of Africans, who provided slave labor for southern plantations as early as the seventeenth century. Later, Asians and Hispan…
Participation in the labor force means that a person is either employed or actively seeking employment. Those who are not looking for work because they are "going to school" or "unable to work" are not considered part of the labor force. The labor force increases with long-term growth of the population. It responds to economic forces and social trends, and its size chan…
Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (PL 88-352), employers may not intentionally use race, skin color, age, gender, religious beliefs, or national origin as the basis for decisions relating to almost any aspect of the employment relationship, including hiring. Despite this law, African-Americans, Hispanics, and other minority groups do suffer from discriminatory hiring practices as wel…
In 2004, for the first time, the percent of the workforce of Hispanic origin (13.1%) was higher than the percent of the workforce that was African-American (11.3%). In addition, more Hispanics than African-Americans will enter the workforce through the year 2014, causing the group to make up an increasingly larger part of the TABLE 4.5 Race-based charges filed and resolved under Title VII of the C…
African-Americans are much less likely than whites or Asian-Americans to hold the jobs requiring the most education and paying the highest salaries—those in management, professional, and related occupations. In 2004, 14.9 million African-Americans accounted for 10.7% of the civilian labor force age sixteen and over, a percent that was unchanged from the previous year. Only 26.5% of employed…
Traditionally, white men have held most of the higher-level positions in the federal government. Along with cabinet members, who are selected by the president, these high-level officials wield the power in federal government. This holds true for many agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. TA…
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2002 the overwhelming majority of business owners in the United States were white, non-Hispanic individuals. All minority groups except for Asian-Americans were underrepresented among business owners compared with their presence in the U.S. residential population age twenty-five and over. Only 3.9% of business owners were of Hispanic origin, even though the …
The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 (PL 100-497) gives tribes "the exclusive right to regulate gaming on Indian lands if the gaming activity is not specifically prohibited by federal law and is conducted within a State which does not, as a matter of criminal law and public policy, prohibit such gaming activity." The law requires that only tribes, not individuals, run gaming oper…
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