Affirmative action at work

A GENTLEMAN wrote to you saying he was "astonished to read David D'Alessandro's suggestion that company executives should order subordinate managers to 'find and hire a qualified black person,' " since, in the letter writer's opinion, such a plan was "illegal racial discrimination" ("A step too far to undo racial inequity," Oct. 13). I disagree, and I think you should not allow that incorrect statement of the law to pass unchallenged.

It is illegal not to hire someone on the basis of race. It's a fine distinction, but an important one. D'Alessandro's suggestion is a very benign and legal form of affirmative action.

It is possible, I imagine, that someone might complain that he was not hired because management decided to follow D'Alessandro's advice - the complaint being that they hired a black person instead - but that's not a very likely occurrence.

(In the interest of full disclosure, I was a lawyer at the same financial services company that D'Alessandro headed, but my opinion here is unrelated to that shared background.)

ELI BORTMAN
Winchester