Roger Clegg

CEO StaffMeet the Staff

CEO Board Member and Former President General Counsel 7700 Leesburg Pike, Suite 231Falls Church, Virginia 22043Tel: 703-442-0066Fax: 703-442-0449Email: RClegg@ceousa.orgRoger Clegg is President and General Counsel of the Center for Equal Opportunity. He focuses on legal issues arising from civil rights laws–including the regulatory impact on business and the problems in higher education created by affirmative action. A former Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Reagan and Bush administrations, Clegg held the second highest positions in both the Civil Rights Division (1987-91) and in the Environment and Natural Resources Division (1991-93). He has held several other positions at the U.S. Justice Department, including …

Affirmative Action Watch

CEO StaffRacial Preferences

Your Anti-Discrimination Hotline In most instances, the use of preferences on the basis of race or ethnicity in education, employment, or government contracting violates federal law. This is true even in cases of “affirmative action” and “diversity” programs. The Center for Equal Opportunity is interested in hearing about such discrimination. In many instances, we may be able to do something about it. This is especially true when the discrimination is openly stated–as is often the case, believe it or not. CEO will not serve as your attorney, but in many cases we will contact the alleged discriminator, and in other …

Linda Chavez

Making Things Worse by Trying to Do Better

Linda ChavezUncategorized

The Department of Labor is about to release figures on long-term unemployment that suggest a major shift in employment patterns in the U.S. Related posts: Drop in Illegal Immigration Opens Door for Real Reform TESTIMONY OF ROGER CLEGG, PRESIDENT AND GENERAL COUNSEL, CENTER FOR EQUAL OPPORTUNITY BEFORE THE U.S. COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS REGARDING THE PROPOSED EMPLOYMENT NON-DISCRIMINATION ACT Did Juan Williams libel LU’s Hans Bader? Five Mistakes Some Conservatives Are Making on Immigration Policy

Quotas, Quotas Everywhere

CEO StaffRacial Preferences

In a Wall Street Journal interview  this month about “the need to focus more on women” by corporations, McKinsey & Co.’s global managing director, Dominic Barton, says: “So if I think about appointments I would do, if I have a choice between a man and a woman and they’re equal in what they’ll do, I will defer to the woman.” And Debra Lee, chairman and chief executive of Viacom Inc.’s BET Networks, says: “And it’s not about quotas. It’s about making sure you have representation on your executive team, and whether that’s minorities or women, whatever it is, you have to …

Happy Thanksgiving, and more

Roger CleggDisparate Impact

First of all, a Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours from the Center for Equal Opportunity! We at CEO have much to be thankful for this year, and that certainly includes supporters like you. One thing we would not put on our most-thankful-for list, however, is wacky interpretations of the civil-rights laws. Speaking of which … The Supreme Court granted review earlier this month in Magner v. Gallagher, which presents the question whether a “disparate impact” cause of action can be brought under the Fair Housing Act. Such lawsuits would allow plaintiffs to challenge housing-related practices that lead to disproportionate …

Linda Chavez

New Deportation Rules a Cynical Move

Linda ChavezImmigration

The Obama administration this week announced new rules governing the deportation of illegal aliens. The administration’s new policy, which has been in the development stage since the summer, aims to speed the deportation of convicted criminals and halt those of many illegal immigrants without criminal records. The timing is purely political; attempting to again make illegal immigration a major factor in the upcoming presidential campaign will ultimately help Democrats, not Republicans. Related posts: The Immigration Impasse Five Mistakes Some Conservatives Are Making on Immigration Policy Arizona Bids Adios to Illegal Immigrant Basher Americans by Any Name

Sane Stern, Crazy Cuomo

Roger CleggEmployment

The sports section of Monday’s New York Times has a long puff piece  on Richard Lapchick and how he pushes for “diversity” (that is, race-based hiring practices) in professional and amateur sports. But in the middle of the predictable pabulum is a bracing dissenting note from NBA commissioner David Stern: Lapchick said he began receiving more cooperation in the years after Bud Selig and Roger Goodell became commissioners of M.L.B. and the N.F.L. But Commissioner David Stern, whose N.B.A. has historically received higher grades than the other leagues, argued that Lapchick’s good intentions—when carried to routine—missed the essential aim of fair-minded …

Arizona Bids Adios to Illegal Immigrant Basher

Linda ChavezImmigration

For the last several years, State Senator Russell Pearce has been the face of the anti-illegal immigrant movement in Arizona. But his district voted this week to recall him, ending a 10-year state legislative career that has been marked by ugly episodes. It’s about time. Related posts: Five Mistakes Some Conservatives Are Making on Immigration Policy The Immigration Impasse TESTIMONY OF ROGER CLEGG, PRESIDENT AND GENERAL COUNSEL, CENTER FOR EQUAL OPPORTUNITY BEFORE THE U.S. COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS REGARDING THE PROPOSED EMPLOYMENT NON-DISCRIMINATION ACT The Case For Birthright Citizenship

Census Bureau rushes unconstitutional ballot demand

Roger CleggVoting Rights

Usually my weekly emails to you are my own writing, but this week I’m going to send you an excellent column by Perry Pendley, head of the Mountain States Legal Foundation. And I think I have three good reasons for doing so. First, as I said, it’s an excellent column, and it’s even better because it draws on the fine work done by the Center for Equal Opportunity’s chairman Linda Chavez, who has told Congress repeatedly that it should get rid of its offensive requirement that ballots be printed in foreign languages. Second, Mr. Pendley and his organization are longtime …

Surprise result when city ends preferences in contracting

Roger CleggRacial Preferences

Supporters of racial and gender preferences in public contracting claim that preferences are needed because, without them, few contracts would go to minority- or women-owned firms. But a study recently done for Charlotte, N.C., reached exactly the opposite conclusion. After race and gender preferences ended, work awarded to minority- and women-owned businesses increased. How can that be? A bit of history is needed: Not long ago, Charlotte had a Minority- and Women-owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) program with preferential goals in its public contracts. The goals were suspended in 2002 as the result of a court challenge. The following year the …