Some forms of affirmative action are legal in the US. Others have been struck down by the courts or have been made illegal by referendum. I work at a large SV

Some forms of affirmative action are legal in the US. Others have been struck down by the courts or have been made illegal by referendum. I work at a large SV tech company and was recently privy to an affirmative action policy that was almost certainly illegal. The wording of the policy was quickly changed after a couple folks spoke up so as to make it conform with the law. If the policy had made it to a news outlet, I guarantee you it would have been on the front page of the NYT the next day. In short, quotas are illegal. With some exceptions, hiring based on race is illegal. However, taking race into account among many factors is legal. The on-the-ground reality of these policies is exceedingly grey.