Widespread confusion about the meaning and scope of 209 and fear of liability. Some agencies, such as the State Personnel Board and California Community Colleges, are in a state of uncertainty regarding what actions they can take to promote workforce diversification under Proposition 209. The legality of their affirmative action employment programs is being challenged in Wilson v. State Personnel Board, et al. , a lawsuit filed by Governor Wilson before the passage of 209. These entities are continuing their outreach, goals and timetables, and other elements of their affirmative action programs pending the resolution of the aforementioned suit. Variances in the monitoring of workforce composition and market availability throughout the entities interviewed.
Most state agencies record the race, ethnicity, and gender of their applicants.
They measure under-utilization by comparing their workforce composition at all categories of employment to similarly qualified candidates working in relevant markets. Some counties and cities do similar data collection to determine under-utilization. However, other counties do not assemble information regarding the race and gender of their applicants and only collect information about their actual workforce. The way in which under-utilization is calculated also varies throughout the state. Some counties compare their workforce to the entire relevant market.