Affirmative Action and Business Deregulation: On the Reagan Administration's Failure to Revise Executive Order No. 11246

This case study of the enforcement of executive orders shows one of the complexities of presidential administrative leadership. Executive Order No. 11246, designed to implement equal employment opportunity in federal contracts, is the focal point for the study. Ronald W. Reagan wished to make sure that the impact of the executive order was not to impose numerical goals, quotas, or timetables on employers. However, even within his own administration, Secretary of Labor William Brock opposed Reagan's lessening of employment standards. More interestingly, perhaps, the larger contractors also opposed changing the order, thinking that uncertainty and reduced standards might affect them negatively. The study shows that even within the administrative presidency there are limits to presidential influence, as the wishes of the labor secretary and large government contractors prevailed.