Final answer:
Affirmative action is designed to counterbalance historical discrimination and is enforced by the EEOC for federal contractors found to discriminate. It promotes workplace diversity and has been shown to have positive outcomes, contradicting the characterization of it as unwarranted mistreatment.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question 'True or False? Affirmative action is a form of unwarranted mistreatment?' seeks to evaluate the nature of affirmative action. This policy is an active effort to give special rights to minorities for hiring and promotion, to compensate for past discrimination.
Affirmative action, in its fundamental form, entails reaching out to a more diverse range of candidates, increasing their chances for employment and promotion.
While some may consider affirmative action controversial and equate it with mistreatment, it is primarily intended as a redress mechanism enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for federal contractors who have been proven to discriminate.
Arguments in favor of affirmative action, like those by James Rachels and Judith Jarvis Thomson, often state it is a corrective measure for historical disadvantages faced by minorities.
Statistical evidence shows affirmative action has produced positive outcomes, such as increased graduation rates for minorities from selective institutions and promoting workplace diversity.