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Affirmative action: the concept and the controversy -- Early efforts focusing on equality of opportunity -- Affirmative action and preferential selection -- Assessing the argument: a review of the case for and against affirmative action -- The Supreme Court and affirmative action: an examination of the early development of statutory and constitutional constraints -- Cases from 1995 to 2003: challenges, uncertainty, and the survival of affirmative action -- Evidence on the effectiveness of affirmative action -- Affirmative action in the twenty-first century.

A professional civil service resting on principles of merit is widely considered an essential and well-established feature of modern government. Nevertheless, the foundation of merit upon which the U.S. federal service is erected is not secure. Indeed, the system is quite fragile. It presumes the presence of a President who understands and is committed to the concept of merit and who has the political will to secure its preservation. This fact was made abundantly clear during the Presidency of Donald J. Trump from January of 2017 to January of 2021. This article describes events during the Trump Presidency that illustrate the fragility of the merit system in the U.S. federal government.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is important legislation designed to prohibit discrimination against disabled persons, but most state and local governments covered by the Act were already prohibited from discrimination against the disabled by provisions of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This article reports the results of a national survey designed to measure the perceptions of personnel managers from state government departments and agencies regarding the impact of the ADA on public personnel management practices given concurrent coverage of the Rehabilitation Act. A majority of the managers from organizations subject to the Rehabilitation Act reported that the ADA had no significant effects on their organizations. Substantial proportions of respondents agreed, however, that the ADA did have certain more narrowly defined effects on public personnel practices. Possible explanations for the perceived effects of the ADA despite coverage by the Rehabilitation Act are considered.

The need to ensure responsible administration in government is an imperative concern for the field of public management. The interest in administrative responsibility is crucial because public administrators are the people who place government into action. They manage and direct the operations of federal, state, and local organizations providing essential services and programs. They issue directives and regulations, which give meaning to public policy, and in the process, substantive policy choices are made. In addition, in these capacities, government administrators act on behalf of the people. Ultimately, they must be accountable to the public interest. As a consequence, public servants bear important moral and ethical obligations. Indeed, much of the history of public administration in the United States has focused on the question of how those obligations might best be met.

Affirmative action in government is important not only for the equitable distribution of employment opportunities but as a symbol of the nation's commitment to end discrimination against minorities and women and to make government more responsive to their interests. This article examines the development of affirmative action policy in employment at the federal, state, and local levels. Recent federal political appointments are noted. Research that has attempted to assess the effects of affirmative action is discussed.