Chapter 3: Equal Employment Opportunity and Human Resources Management

Older Workers Benefit Protection Act of 1990

prohibits employers from denying benefits to older employees except in limited circumstances; allows employees to wave their legal rights under ADEA in exchange for compensation

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act 2009

employees can claim discrimination years after getting unfair pay

Civil Rights Act of 1991

employees that have proven discrimination can seek compensatory monetary damages; employees sent abroad are still protected

Amendments to the USERRA • Veterans Benefits Improvement Act

employers must provide notice of rights

Protected Classes:

individuals of a minority race, women, older people, and those with disabilities who are covered by federal laws on equal employment opportunity

Glass Ceiling Act of 1991

invisible barrier that prevents protected classes from reaching the top

Amendments to ADA- ADA Amendment Act

makes it less likely for someone to not receive protection under ADA due to their being treatment for it

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

protects people with disabilities Passed by Congress in 1991, this act banned discrimination against the disabled in employment and mandated easy access to all public and commerical buildings.

Sexual Harassment:

unwelcomed sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature; also includes offensive remarks of a person's sex

Quid Pro Quo Harassment

when submission to or rejection of sexual conduct is used as a basis of employment

Hostile Environment

when unwelcomed sexual conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with job performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment

Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008

• Aka GINA • Passed to alleviate people's fears that their genetic information would be misused • Employers are prohibited from requesting, requiring or purchasing the genetic information of workers

Amendments to the Civil Rights Act of 1964

• Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 • Civil Rights Act of 1991 • Glass Ceiling Act of 1991 • Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act 2009

Civil Rights Act of 1964

• Landmark law that addresses discrimination in society in general in the US • Broadest and most significant • Title VII specifically bars employment discrimination in all HR activities including hiring, training, promotion, transfers, pay, employee benefits, and other conditions of employment

Amendments to the ADEA

• Older Workers Benefit Protection Act of 1990

Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA)

• People who enter the military for a total of five years can return to their private sector jobs without loss of seniority or benefits

Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978

• Pregnancy is a disability and that pregnant employees in covered organizations must be treated on an equal basis with employees having other medical conditions

Executive Order 11246 (1965) amended by Order 11375 (1966)

• Prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin by government contractors w/ contracts exceeding $10,000; requires contractors employing 50 or more workers to develop affirmative action plans when government contracts exceed $50,000 a year

Age Discrimination Act of 1967

• Prohibits specific employers from discriminating against employees and applicants age 40 or older • Employers with 20 + employees, unions with 25+ members, employment agencies, federal, state and local governments

Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973

• Requires private employers with federal contracts over $2500 to take action to hire individuals with a mental or physical disability

Enforcing EEO Legislation

• The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission • Record- Keeping and Posting Requirements • Processing Discrimination Charges • Preventing Discrimination Charges

Emerging Employment Discrimination Issues

• Weight Discrimination • Attractiveness • Caregiver responsibilities

Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures:

A procedural document published in the Federal Register to help employers comply with federal regulations against discriminatory actions • Validity • Adverse Impact & Disparate Treatment

Disabled Individual:

Any person who (1) has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the person's major life actions, (2) has a record of such impairment or (3) is regarded as having such impairment • Does not include contagious diseases or stress

Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972

The coverage of the act was broadened to include state and local governments and educational institutions and strengthened the enforcement powers of the EEOC by allowing the agency to sue employers

Equal Employment Opportunity:

The treatment of individuals in all aspects of employment - hiring, promotion, training, etc. - in a fair and nonbiased manner

How does the law define disabilities?

"physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major activities, a record of such impairment or being regarded as having such impairment"

A company does not violate the Equal Pays Act if the difference in wages between the genders is due to:

-Seniority -Merit considerations -Worker's quantity and quality of production

Events that led to changing national values

-civil rights movement 1950s and 60s -sit ins, rallies -women's movement -employee non discrimination act protects LGBTQ

Civil Rights Act of 1964 Covers Organizations with the following:

1. 15+ employees for 20+ weeks a year 2. State and local governments 3. Private and public employment agencies 4. Joint labor management committees that govern training programs 5. Labor unions with 15+ employees 6. Public and private educational institutions 7. Foreign subsidiaries of US organizations employing US citizens

Factors that influenced growth of EEO legislation

1. Changing attitudes toward employment discrimination 2. Published reports highlighting the economic problems and injustices experienced by minority workers 3. Growing body of disparate discrimination laws and regulations at different levels of government that legislators felt should be standardized

Actions for Employers to Comply with IRCA

1. Have employees fill out their part of Form I-9 2. Check documents establishing an employee's identity and eligibility to work 3. Complete the employer's section of Form I-9 4. Retain Form I-9 for at least three years 5. Present Form I-9 for inspection to an Immigration and Naturalization Service officer or to a Department of Labor officer upon request

Types of Sexual Harassment

1. Quid Pro Quo Harassment 2. Hostile Environment

Organizations excluded from Civil Rights Act of 1964

1. US government owned corporations 2. Bona fide tax exempt private clubs 3. Religious organizations 4. Organizations hiring Native Americans on or near a reservation

Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA)

Employers covered by law are prohibited from knowingly hiring or retaining unauthorized aliens on the job Employers with four or more employees are prohibited from discriminating in hiring or termination decisions based on nationality or citizenship

Validity

Employers must be able to prove that selection instrument used to choose individuals for employment, bears a direct relationship to job success Validation studies prove the relatedness of the test to the job under study

Executive Order 8802, 1941

Ensured every American citizen would be guaranteed equal employment opportunities for workers employed by firms awarded World War II defense contracts

EEOC

Equal employment opportunity commission Federal agency that enforces nation's fair employment laws

Restricted Policy

Evidence that an employer has a selection procedure that excludes members of a protected class, whether intentional or not, constitutes adverse impact

Equal Pay Act of 1963

Makes it illegal to discriminate against people in terms of pay, employee benefits, and pension they earn based on their gender when they do equal work

Religious Preference

Managers may have to accommodate an employee's religion in the specific areas of holidays and observances (scheduling), personal appearance (beards, veils, turbans) and religious conduct on the job (missionary work among other employees)

If a disparity in pay exists, can employers decrease the wages of the overpaid gender to comply with the laws?

No, employers must raise the wages of the underpaid gender to comply with the laws not lower the wages of the overpaid gender

Why did early efforts fail?

Nondiscrimination laws failed to give enforcement powers to the agency charged with upholding the law Laws that were passed neglected to list specific discriminatory practices that needed to be corrected Employers covered by the acts were required only to comply voluntarily with the equal employment opportunity legislation

Executive Order 11478 (1996)

Obligates the federal government to ensure that all personnel actions affecting applicants for employment be free from discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin

Civil Rights Act, 1866

Permitted right to enjoy full and equal benefits of all laws, regardless of race

Unemployment Relief Act, 1933

Prohibited employment discrimination based on race, color, or creed

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

Prohibits employment discrimination based on a person's religion Does not require employers to grant complete religious freedom in employment situations Requires employers make a reasonable accommodation without incurring undue hardship in conduct of the business

E-Verification system

Provides an automated link to federal databases to help employers determine: -Legal eligibility of workers -Validity of their Social Security numbers

Lack of awareness fair employment laws leads to

Risk of costly and time-consuming litigation Negative public attention Low sales and employee morale Damage an individual's careers

Steps toward leveraging people's differences involve:

Seeing Understanding Valuing

Four -fifths Rule

Selection rate for any racial, ethnic, or sex class is less than four-fifths of the rate of the class with the highest selection rate

Fair Employment Practices (FEPs):

State and Local Laws governing equal employment opportunity that are often more comprehensive than federal laws and apply to small employers Prohibits discrimination based on a person's sexual orientation, physical appearance, marital status, arrest records, color blindness, or political affiliation

Fair Employment Practice Agencies (FEPAs)

State and local agencies that enforce antidiscrimination laws

Charge form:

a discrimination complaint filed with the EEOC by employees or job applicants o Retaliation not allowed from employers

Affirmative Action

a policy that goes beyond equal employment opportunity by requiring organizations to comply with the law and correct any past discriminatory practices by increasing the numbers of minorities and women in specific positions

Workforce Utilization Analysis

a process of classifying protected class members by number and by the type of job they hold within the organization

Disparate Treatment

a situation in which protected class members receive unequal treatment or are evaluated by different standards

Chief Diversity Officer (CDO):

a top executive responsible for the implementation of a firm's diversity efforts

Business Necessity:

a work related practice that is necessary to the safe and efficient operation of an organization

Reasonable Accommodation:

an attempt by employers to adjust without undue hardship, the working conditions or schedules of employees with disabilities or religious preferences

Executive Order 13087

bars discrimination against civilian employees of federal government based on their sexual orientation Homosexuals are protected by fair employment practice laws passed at state and local levels

Adverse Impact:

concept that refers to the rejection of a significantly higher percentage of a protected class for employment, placement, or promotion when compared with the successful, non-protected class

Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ):

suitable defense against a discrimination charge only when age, religion, sex, or national origin is an actual qualification for performing a job

Reverse Discrimination:

the act of giving preference to members of protected classes to the extent that unprotected individuals believe they are suffering from discrimination