County to evaluate minority contracting policies By Virginia Terhune
Jurisdictions began doing disparity studies following a landmark court case in which the J.A. Croson contracting firm sued Virginia in 1983, because Richmond had required that non-minority prime contractors set aside at least 30 percent of the contract amount for minority subcontractors.
The Supreme Court ultimately ruled in 1989 that the practice violated the equal protection clause of the Constitution's 14th Amendment, resulting in a setback for minority hiring.
Jurisdictions have the authority to set goals to prevent discrimination in their spending, but they need to do a study to find out what percentage minority firms make up of the total vendor community.
Since then, disparity studies have become commonplace, often replacing goals set based on population rather than available vendors.