This article assesses several likely consequences of moving from a traditional tenure to an at-will system of employment for patterns of racial inequality in the public sector. On the basis of these consequences, it is argued that an at-will system may negate the long-standing status of the public arena as the labor market niche for African Americans. The broad discretion of employers may increase susceptibility of African Americans to discrimination-induced job dismissals. In addition, employment at will may reduce the social-psychological benefits traditionally associated with government employment.
Bowman, J., Gertz, M., Gertz, S., & Williams, R. (2003). Civil service reform in state government: Employees attitudes 1 year later. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 23, 286-304.
2.
Burstein, P. (1985). Discrimination, jobs, and politics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
3.
Collins, S. (1997). Black corporate executives: The making and breaking of a Black middle class. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
4.
Colvin, R., & Riccucci, N. (2003). Employment nondiscrimination policies: Assessing implementation and measuring effectiveness. International Journal of Public Administration, 25(1), 95-108.
5.
Condrey, S., & Maranto, R. (2001). Radical reform in the civil service. New York: Lexington Books.
6.
Edsall, T., & Edsall, M. (1991). Chain reaction: The impact of race, rights, and taxes on American politics.New York: Norton.
7.
Farley, R., & Allen, W. (1989). The color line and the quality of life in America.New York: Russell Sage.
8.
Glass Ceiling Commission. (1995). Good for business: Making full use of the nation's human capital. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
9.
Green, R., Golden, A., Forbis, R., Nelson, S., & Robinson, J. (in press). On the ethics of at-will employment relations in the public sector. Public Integrity.
10.
Greene, V., Selden, S., & Brewer, G. (2001). Measuring power and presence: Bureaucratic representation in the American states. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 11, 379-402.
11.
Hall, R. (1986). Dimensions of work. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
12.
Hanson, S., Martin, J., & Tuch, S. (1987). Economic sector and job satisfaction. Work and Occupations, 14, 286-305.
13.
Hill, M. (1985). User's guide to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Survey Research.
14.
Kalleberg, A. (1977). Work values and work rewards: A theory of job satisfaction. American Sociological Review, 42(4), 124-145.
15.
Kluegel, J. (1978). The causes and cost of exclusion from job authority. American Sociological Review, 43(2), 285-301.
16.
Knudsen, H., Martin, A., Martin, J., & Roman, P. (2003). Downsizing survival: The experience of work and organizational commitment. Sociological Inquiry, 73, 265-283.
17.
Model, S. (1985). Economic niches among immigrants. In S. Katz (Ed.), The historical origins of the American underclass (pp. 100-149). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
18.
Panel Study of Income Dynamics 2004 (Wave 33) [Data file]. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, Institute for Policy Studies.
19.
Peters, B. (2001). The future of governing. Lawrence: University of Kansas Press.
20.
Pettigrew, T. (1985). New Black-White patterns: How best to conceptualize them?Annual Review of Sociology, 11, 329-346.
21.
Riccucci, N., & Seidel, J. (1997). The representativeness of state-level bureaucratic leaders: A missing piece of the representative bureaucratic puzzle. Public Administration Review, 57, 423-439.
22.
Scholl, R. (1981). Differentiating organizational commitment from expectancy as a motivating force. Academy of Management Review, 6, 584-599.
23.
Smith, R. (1997). Race, income, and authority at work: A cross-temporal analysis of Black and White men. Social Problems, 38(1), 19-37.
24.
Tuch, S., & Martin, J. (1991). Race in the workplace: Black/White differences in the sources of job satisfaction. Sociological Quarterly, 32(2), 103-116.
25.
Waldinger, R. (1996). Still the promised city: African Americans and immigrants in post-industrial New York. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
26.
Walters, J. (2002). Life after civil service reform: The Texas, Georgia, and Florida experiences. Arlington, TX: Endowment for the Business of Government.
27.
West, J. (2002). Georgia on the mind of radical civil service reformers. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 22(2), 79-93.
28.
Wilson, G. (1997). Pathways to power: Racial differences in the determinants of job authority. Social Problems, 44(1), 38-54.
29.
Wilson, G., & McBrier, D. B. (2005). Race and loss of privilege: African American/White differences in the determinants of job layoffs from upper-tier occupations. Sociological Forum, 18, 301-322.
30.
Zwerling, C., & Silver, H. (1992). Race and job dismissals in a federal bureaucracy. American Sociological Review, 57, 651-660.
