The Nation : Quota Rule May Be Eased

The Reagan Administration is moving to revise, and likely weaken, a presidential executive order that for some 20 years has guided efforts to prompt companies holding government contracts to hire minorities and women, a government source said. The New York Times and the Washington Post, in today’s editions, quoted a draft version of the new order as saying that under its provisions, a government contractor would not be required “to utilize any numerical quota, goal or ratio” to remedy discrimination based on race, sex, religion or national origin. White House spokesman Larry Speakes, in California with the vacationing President, said of the document: “That is a month-old draft that has no standing whatsoever.”