Bias Claims on the Rise

THE DAILY FED

Bias Claims on the Rise

Federal agencies have seen a dramatic rise in discrimination complaints, despite the Clinton administration's push for diversity, The Washington Times reported Wednesday.

Most notably, agencies are reporting growing numbers of white employees charging reverse discrimination.

The number of federal workers has dropped by almost 340,000 since 1991, but the number of discrimination complaints has grown by a third, from 9,924 in 1991 to 13,156 in 1996, according to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission statistics. Whites' charges of reverse discrimination have nearly doubled, from just 10 percent of the EEOC's caseload in 1991 to 17.1 percent in 1996.

At a congressional hearing last week, Rep. John L. Mica, R-Fla., said government employment practices sanction race- or sex-based preferences and the disparate treatment of individuals.

"In implementing equal employment policies, agencies have used quotas and timetables that appear to contribute to the increases in discrimination charges," he said.