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Vol. 73, No. 5, May 2000 |
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Book Reviews
This Month's Featured Selections
Can We All Get Along?
Racial and Ethnic Minorities in American Politics
By Paula D. McClain & Joseph Stewart Jr.
(Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1998).
272 pgs. $17.
Reviewed by Timothy McAllister
One of the most volatile dilemmas facing our nation is explored
in this book. This well-organized text begins with a discussion
of terminology issues and a brief historic overview of the constitutional
and citizenship aspects of the major racial and ethnic minorities
the book covers: Blacks, Latinos, American Indians, and Asians.
Using an abundance of maps and tables, subgroups of these
minority groups are identified, dispelling the concept that these
groups are constructed of stereotypical individuals. These subgroups
vary distinctly in median income, education, and voting habits.
Resources and voting habits are broken
down and discussed, as are group identity, perceptions of discrimination,
and political ideology. Variations among the subgroups' habits
and perceptions are covered to differentiate their beliefs and
voting patterns. The importance of this becomes evident as the
maps and tables clearly indicate the variations in what is generally
perceived as a single entity "minority."
The formation of minority interest groups is discussed. Most
originally were centered on fighting back against mainstream
policies and segregation. It was necessary to establish interest
groups in order to attempt to place issues on the political agenda
of local, state, and federal governmental bodies.
Public policy-making is a cyclical process of agenda setting,
formulating proposals, adoption between competing proposals,
implementation, and ongoing evaluation of implemented policies.
Minority groups struggle to get into the initial agenda setting
stage of the process due to limited economic resources and population
size. For minority groups, the greatest influence on agenda setting
has been through the efforts to create outside initiative.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 has enabled minority groups
to gain some inside access, but it has been limited in its success.
The Supreme Court has been a more effective access point for
minorities since the actions of policy makers can be appealed
to ensure that the actions are consistent with the Constitution
and not just what the majority wants. Affirmative action, equal
educational opportunities, and judicial histories are well covered.
The book deals in depth with problems concerning minority
group coalition formation and competition. Specific interests,
rather than ideology, tends to be the foundation of group coalitions.
Coalitions tend to dissolve when policy formation that favors
one participant group over another becomes reality.
The text totally dispels the stereotype that all minorities
think alike because of their minority status. A continuing problem
is the fact that minorities have been socialized in a manner
that perceives them as less than "white people," which
has led minority groups to believe that other minority groups
are less than themselves. The depth of prejudice in policies
and beliefs ingrained in many people will always hinder the realization
of equal human potential and worth for all.
This text deserves to be used in advanced high school or introductory
college public policy courses and as an adjunct text for more
advanced courses. The quality of the writing, coupled with the
tables, maps, and photographs pro-duces a volume that should
be read by all.
Timothy McAllister is an offender classification
specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.
Religion in the Workplace:
A Comprehensive Guide to Legal Rights and Responsibilities
By Michael Wolf, Bruce Friedman, & Daniel Sutherland
(Chicago, IL: ABA Tort & Insurance Practice Section, 1998).
267 pgs. $69.95.
Reviewed by Kevin L. Keeler
Numerous areas of federal law may apply to religious conflicts
in the workplace, including the First Amendment, Title VII, the
EEOC Guidelines, executive orders, federal personnel laws and
regulations relating to religious accommodation, the National
Labor Relations Act, and the White House Guidelines on Religious
Exercise and Expression. This book provides a clear and practical
road map through these various areas as well as the relevant
case law.
After an overview of the relevant federal laws and a discussion
of the types of employers covered, the book examines how the
courts have attempted to define religious beliefs under Title
VII and the First Amendment. Although courts generally defer
to an individual's own declaration of religious principle, they
have drawn the line in extreme cases, holding, for example, that
a personal religious creed requiring an employee to eat cat food
is not a religious practice.
The book highlights the potential catch-22 for employers that
occurs when an employee's proselytizing on the job is objected
to by coworkers. The law appears to require an employer to prevent
the proselytizer from harassing other employees and at the same
time to accommodate the proselytizer's religious beliefs. However,
courts have upheld employers who have suppressed proselytizing
activities that have become harassing to other employees.
What private and public employers must do to accommodate an
employee's religious beliefs is an important focus of the book,
taking up the book's last five chapters. The employer generally
is not required to grant an accommodation if it creates an undue
hardship for the employer, which the courts have interpreted
to mean anything more than a de minimis cost. Further, the courts
have held that employers need only offer an employee one reasonable
accommodation, and are not required to agree to accommodations
requested by the employee.
In addition to Title VII, public sector employers are subject
to the First Amendment's restrictions prohibiting government
from promoting or interfering with religion. The authors show
how the law in this area has changed markedly over the last decade,
beginning with the 1990 Supreme Court decision in Employment
Division, Department of Human Resources v. Smith, which held
that a state does not have to show a compelling interest if religion
is only incidentally affected by a neutral, generally applicable
law. In response to Smith, Congress passed the Religious
Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) which restored the compelling
interest test in all cases where free exercise of religion is
substantially burdened. After the Supreme Court declared RFRA
unconstitutional as applied to the states in City of Boerne
v. Flores, the federal government decided to voluntarily
adhere to the RFRA standards.
The book's emphasis on practical applications and its avoidance
of legal jargon should make it an accessible reference for human
resource personnel and other nonlawyers. Attorneys will appreciate
its comprehensive discussion of the important cases and appendices
containing the full text of the federal law sources.
Kevin L. Keeler, U.W. 1985, is a shareholder
in the Milwaukee office of beck, Chaet, Molony & Bamberger
S.C.
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