The Supreme Court has granted review for the 2012 term in the case "Fisher v. University of Texas." Abigail Fisher, a rejected white applicant to the University of Texas, has challenged the use of racial and ethnic admission preferences, which the Court had allowed in its 2003 decision involving the University of Michigan law school,…

The author reports on a Supreme Court case that is echoing across the University of Texas at Austin, and for some students, it is personal. Not long after the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Abigail Fisher's case against the University of Texas at Austin, a lighthearted joke made the rounds at the Warfield Center for African and African-American…

The homepage of the Project on Fair Representation (POFR) features a smiling photo of Abigail Fisher, the young White woman at the center of "Fisher v. the University of Texas," which could end race as a criterion in university admissions. Edward Blum, founder of POFR, a conservative advocacy group, connected Fisher with Wiley Rein LLP,…

This article explains how proposed Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regulations attempt to circumvent the case of Weber vs Kaiser Aluminum Corp. by providing employers with backpay immunity in reverse discrimination suits. (Author)

Describes how, during oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court over the University of Michigan's race-conscious admissions policy, several justices indicated that they did not see any viable alternatives to the use of affirmative action in college admissions. (EV)

Analyzes the "Weber" case and speculates about the impact the Supreme Court ruling may have on personnel and industrial relations practitioners. Available from the Employee Relations Law Journal, Executive Enterprises Publications Co., Inc., 33 West 60th Street, New York, New York 10023; $48.00/year. (Author/IRT)

Uses a question-and-answer format to amplify the "Weber" decision and explain how the case affects an employer. Is particularly concerned with the role of quotas in affirmative action plans. (IRT)

Outlines major unanswered questions raised by the "Weber" case, such as how voluntary the quota system at Kaiser was, the union's duty of fair representation, and the nature of permissible benign quota systems. (IRT)

The historic Plessy vs. Ferguson decision is reviewed along with the 14th Amendment on which the decision was based. The Brown case is discussed. The issues and implications in the Bakke case are also elucidated. (Author/AM)

While still leaving some questions unanswered, the guidelines provided in the "Weber" case have clearly helped to clarify the legal status of race-conscious employee selection procedures. (Author/IRT)

Discusses the history of reverse discrimination in employment and how it affects judicial treatment of affirmative action programs in the United States. (CT)

Describes how several key advocacy groups, working together, have played key roles in bringing the issue of race in college admissions to the Supreme Court. (EV)

"Affirmative action" is the term typically used to refer to two contrasting values: the value of equal opportunity and the value of equal results. The Justice Department under the Reagan Administration, however, draws a clear distinction between the two, and is committed to the "original" meaning of affirmative action. That is,…

The main question of this case is whether Allan Bakke was denied the equal protection of the laws in contravention of the 14th Amendment, solely because of his race, as the result of a racial quota admission policy. A statement of the case which reviews pertinent data such as the admission procedure of the medical school, Bakke's interview and…

Suggests that Bakke was not rejected because he was white or because of a minority program, but rather because he was not highly qualified and in addition possibly because of his age. (Author/AM)