Rights Panel Backs Jobs Bill, Warns of Quotas

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, in a sharp break with its conservative recent past, Thursday announced its endorsement of pending civil rights legislation.

“More, not less, needs to be done to provide redress to victims of employment discrimination and to reduce the amount of discrimination in employment,” it said.

At the same time, the panel said it had some concerns--shared by the Bush Administration--that one section of the bill could lead to encouraging the use of “illegal quotas” by employers.

The commission urged Congress to adopt language to make clear that in the absence of a finding or order by the courts, the controversial section of the bill is “not intended to promote employment quotas, nor will the use of quotas be condoned as a means of avoiding liability under this section.”

At issue is a section of the bill overturning a Supreme Court decision that said employers no longer had to show a “business necessity” for their hiring practices that resulted in a “disparate impact” on women and minorities.