Promoting Opportunity and Equality in America

A Guide to Federal Circuit Authority on Permissible Government Actions to Promote Racial and Gender Equality

In support of our ongoing efforts to expand opportunity in the United States, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and The Opportunity Agenda have published a report entitled, “Promoting Opportunity and Equality in America: A Guide to Federal Circuit Authority on Permissible Government Actions to Promote Racial and Gender Equality.”

The goals of this report are twofold: (1) it discusses the law within each judicial circuit of the U.S. for governmental entities who are attempting to remedy discrimination by using racial or gender classifications in the allocation of government contracts; and (2) it is a user-friendly tool that will allow state and local policymakers to assess how they may properly allocate economic recovery funds, specifically, in a way that ensures that the distribution is equitable.

Distributing economic recovery funds in an equitable manner is particularly important given statements issued by both the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of the Attorney General, which explicitly state that all nondiscrimination laws apply to programs receiving funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

We hope this legal resource will be useful to you, your organization, and the policymakers with whom you work.