Are utilization goals the same as hiring quotas?

Equal Employment Opportunity

No. Utilization goals are not rigid and inflexible quotas, and they do not establish a ceiling or a floor for the utilization of a particular group.  Similarly, the Equal Employment Opportunity regulations provide that a sponsor cannot use its utilization goals as a way to extend a preference to any individual on the basis of that person’s race, sex, or ethnicity, nor can the sponsor create set-asides for specific groups.  The application of utilization goals does not require sponsors to select a person who lacks qualifications to participate in the apprenticeship program successfully, or to select a less qualified person in preference to a more qualified one.

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