CMS1 Assignment 2: Equal Employment Opportunity
State and local agencies that enforce antidiscrimination laws are called ______________.
Fair Employment Practices Agencies (FEPAs)
The law defines a disability as
"(a) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major activities; (b) a record of such impairment; or (c) being regarded as having such an impairment."
Today it is illegal to discriminate based on an individual's :
race color religion sex pregnancy status national origin age disabilities genetic information
equal employment opportunity (EEO)
The treatment of individuals in all aspects of employment - hiring, promotion, training, etc. - in a fair and nonbiased manner.
It is important to remember that the EEOC's guidelines are not federal law but administrative rules and regulations published in the _____________.
Federal Register
_______________ cases deal with unintentional discrimination; ______________ cases involve instances of purposeful discrimination.
Adverse impact disparate treatment
A ____________ is defined as a group of people sharing a common language, culture, ancestry, and/or similar social characteristics.
"national origin group"
Affirmative action programs are required by the OFCCP for employers with federal contracts greater than $50,000. Employers must:
(1) provide an organizational profile that graphically illustrates their workforce demographics (2) establish goals and timetables for employment of underutilized protected classes (3) develop actions and plans to reduce underutilization, including initiating proactive recruitment and selection methods (4) monitor progress of the entire affirmative action program.
Two basic ways to show that adverse impact exists:
1. Adverse rejection rate, or Four-Fifths Rule 2. Restricted policy
The EEOC recognizes two forms of sexual harassment as being illegal under Title VII :
1. quid pro quo harassment 2. hostile environment
adverse impact
A 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, nonprotected class.
charge form
A discrimination complaint filed with the EEOC by employees or job applicants.
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.
Uniform Guideline on Employee Selection Procedures
A procedural document published in the Federal Register to help employers comply with federal regulations against discriminatory actions.
workforce utilization analysis
A process of classifying protected-class members by number and by the type of job they hold within the organization. The process of analyzing the composition of the internal workforce compared with the external labor market.
four-fifths rule
A rule of thumb followed by the EEOC in determining adverse impact for use in enforcement proceedings.
disparate treatment
A situation in which protected class members receive unequal treatment or are evaluated by different standards.
chief diversity officers (CDO)
A top executive responsible for implementing a firm's diversity efforts.
business necessity
A work-related practice that is necessary to the safe and efficient operation of an organization.
Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010
Bars discrimination against military personnel based on their sexual orientations.
Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978
Broadens the definition of sex discrimination to include pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions; prohibits employers from discriminating against pregnant women in employment benefits if they are capable of performing their job duties.
Describe the nature of the prohibition of discrimination based on religion in federal employment decisions.
Employers are not required to make every possible allowance for the religious preferences of employees or to grant complete religious freedom with respect to employment relations. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 requires employers to make a reasonable accommodation to the religious observances and practices of current employees or job applicants without incurring undue hardship on the business. Managers or supervisors may have to accommodate an employee's religion in the specific areas of holidays and observances (scheduling), personal appearance (wearing beards, veils or turbans) and religious conduct on the job.
With respect to the operation and activities of EEOC, describe the nature of the EEO-1 report.
Employers of 100 or more employees (except state and local government employers) and government contractors and subcontractors subject to Executive Order 11286 must file annually an EEO-1 report (Employer Information Report). This comprehensive report is EEOC's basic document for determining an employer's workforce composition. In preparing the EEO-1 report, the organization may collect records concerning racial or ethnic identity. The preferred method of identifying gender, race and ethnic information is employee self-identification, but if employees decline to self-identify, employment records or visual observation may be used. Employers can submit the EEO-1 report through the agency's Web-based filing system.
Explain the purposes of Executive Order 11246 and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).
Executive Order 11246 created OFCCP. Primarily it prohibits discrimination against protected classes by federal agencies and contractors. OFCCP administers the executive order and several statutes. It issues guidelines, enforces compliance and reviews affirmative action (AA) plans that are required by some employers. Federal agencies and government contractors with contracts of $10,000 or more must comply with the antidiscrimination provisions of Executive Order 11246. Government contractors or subcontractors having 50 or more employees with contracts in excess of $50,000 are required to develop AA plans.
To preserve our tradition of legal immigration while closing the door to illegal entry, employers must comply with the requirements of the ___________________. The law has two employer mandates. First, all employers covered by the law are prohibited from knowingly hiring or retaining unauthorized aliens on the job. Second, employers with four or more employees are prohibited from discriminating in hiring or termination decisions on the basis of national origin or citizenship.
Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA)
protected classes
Individuals of a minority race, women, older people, and those with disabilities who are covered by federal laws on equal employment opportunity.
Executive Order 11478 (1969)
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.
Charges of discrimination based on national origin or citizenship are filed with the ____________.
Office of Special Counsel in the Department of Justice
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (amended in 1998, 2004, and 2008)
Protects the employment rights of individuals who enter the military for short periods of service.
Equal Pay Act of 1963
Requires all employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act and others to provide equal pay for equal work, regardless of sex.
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.
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 the job.
State the basic thrust of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 as amended.
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act prohibits private and public employers with 20 or more employees from discriminating against persons who are 40 years of age or older in any area of employment because of age. In recent years the number of age discrimination complaints filed with the EEOC has been steadily trending upward.
Describe the coverage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 including the definition of disability therein.
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals with physical and mental disabilities or who are chronically ill. It requires employers to make a reasonable accommodation to disabled persons who are otherwise qualified to work, unless doing this would be an undue hardship. A disability is defined as a 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 an impairment. Persons regarded as having a disability include, for example, individuals with disfiguring burns. The requirements for making a reasonable accommodation generally include such actions as making facilities accessible and usable to disabled persons, restructuring jobs, permitting part-time or modified work schedules, reassigning to a vacant position and changing equipment and/or expense. Moreover, employers cannot use selection procedures that tend to screen out disabled persons unless the procedure is job related and is consistent with business necessity, and acceptable job performance cannot be achieved through reasonable accommodation. "Essential functions," a pivotal issue for ensuring reasonable accommodation, will be discussed in the next assignment.
__________________________________expanded the statute of limitations concerning lawsuits related to discriminatory pay. it states that the 180-day statute of limitations for filing an equal pay lawsuit with EEOC resets with each new discriminatory paycheck an employee receives—not the date the employee received his or her first discriminatory paycheck.
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009
reverse discrimination
The act of giving preference to members of protected classes to the extent that unprotected individuals believe that are suffering discrimination.
American with Disabilities Act of 1990
The act requires employers to make a reasonable accommodation for disabled people who are otherwise qualified to work, unless doing so would cause undue hardship to the employer. "Undue hardship" refers to unusual work modifications or excessive expenses that might be incurred by an employer in providing an accommodation. Reasonable accommodation "includes making facilities accessible and usable to disabled persons, restructuring jobs, permitting part-time or modified work schedules, reassigning to a vacant position, changing equipment, and/or expense." "Reasonable" is to be determined according to (1) the nature and cost of the accommodation and (2) the financial resources, size, and profitability of the facility and parent organization.
What three factors have influenced the growth of equal employment opportunity (EEO) legislation?
Three factors that have influenced the growth of EEO legislation are: (1) Changing attitudes toward employment discrimination (2) Published reports highlighting the economic problems and injustices experienced by minority workers (3) A growing body of laws and government regulations at different levels of government that legislators believed should be standardized.
Identify the basic provisions concerning employment relations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the broadest and most significant piece of antidiscrimination legislation among the various statutes in this public policy area. It includes human resources management activities within its purview. It bars certain types of discrimination with respect to hiring, training, promotion, transfers, pay, employee benefits and other conditions of employment. Discrimination is prohibited on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (also referred to as gender) or national origin. Because of the growing number of immigrant workers and workplace cultural and ethnic awareness, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued important guidelines on national origin discrimination. A "national origin group" is defined as a group of people sharing a common language, culture, ancestry and/or similar social characteristics. Also prohibited under the act is discrimination based on pregnancy. The act also created the EEOC to enforce the provisions of Title VII. The impact with respect to covered firms, organizations, employees and practices is extensive. However, employers are not required to hire, promote or retain unqualified people. Also, employers may use such objective factors as merit systems and seniority in making employment decisions, as well as any other factors not predicated on employees' race, color, sex, religion or national origin.
hostile environment
can occur when unwelcome sexual conduct "has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with job performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment"
A court-ordered program, often implemented through a _____________ between the court and employer, will require the setting of hiring and promotional goals along with stated timetables for compliance. When the requirements are met, the employer is no longer bound by the court order.
consent decree
quid pro quo harassment
occurs when "submission to or rejection of sexual conduct is used as a basis for employment decisions. Involves a tangible or economic consequence, such as a demotion or loss of pay.
The steps towards leveraging people's differences involves___________________________
seeing, understanding, and valuing them.
disabled individual
Any person who (1) has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the person's major life activities, (2) has a record of such impairment, or (3) is regarded as having such an impairment.
Describe why early efforts had little impact in correcting employment discrimination.
1. At both the state and federal levels nondiscrimination laws often failed to give any enforcement powers to the agency charged with upholding the law. 2. The laws that were passed neglected to list specific discriminatory practices or methods that needed to be corrected. 3. There was no compulsory requirement to comply with equal employment opportunity legislation.
Three factors that have influenced the growth of EEO legislation:
1. Changing attitudes toward employment discrimination. 2. Published reports highlighting the economic problems and injustices experienced by minority workers 3. A growing body of disparate discrimination laws and regulations at different levels of government that legislators felt should be standardized.
Four amendments to the Civil Rights Act of 1964
1. Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 2. Civil Rights Act of 1991 3. Glass Ceiling Act of 1991 4. Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (2009)
EEO-1 report
An employer information report that must be filed annually by employers of 100 or more employees (except state and local government employers) and government contractors and subcontractors subject to Executive Order 11286 to determine an employer's workforce composition.
List the five actions employers must take 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.
A comprehensive training program will include:
(1) the prohibitions covered in the various EEO statutes and executive orders (2) guidance on how to respond to complaints of discrimination (3) procedures for investigating complaints (4) suggestions for remedying inappropriate behavior
Discriminatory practices include:
- harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, genetic information, or age -retaliation against an individual for filing a charge of discrimination, participating in an investigation, or opposing discriminatory practices - employment decisions based on stereotypes or assumptions about the abilities, traits, or performance of individuals of a certain sex, race, age, religion, or ethnic group, or individuals with disabilities, or based on myths or assumptions about an individual's genetic information - denying employment opportunities to a person because of marriage to, or association with, an individual of a particular race, religion, national origin, or an individual with a disability. Title VII also prohibits discrimination because of participation in schools or places of worship associated with a particular racial, ethnic, or religious group.
It is illegal to discriminate in any aspect of employment including :
- hiring and firing - compensation, assignment, or classification of employees - transfer, promotion, layoff, or recall - job advertisements - recruitment - testing - use of company facilities - training and apprenticeship programs - fringe benefits - pay, retirement plans, and disability leave - other terms and conditions of employment
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 covers a broad range of organizations. The law includes under its jurisdiction the following:
1. All private employers in interstate commerce who employ fifteen or more employees for twenty or more weeks per year 2. State and local governments 3. Private and public employment agencies 4. Joint labor-management committees that govern apprenticeship or training programs 5. Labor unions having 15 or more members or employees 6. Public and private educational institutions 7. Foreign subsidiaries of U.S. organizations employing U.S. citizens
Basic steps in developing an effective affirmative action program:
1. Issue a written equal employment opportunity policy and an affirmative action commitment statement. 2. Publicize the policy and the organization's affirmative action commitment. 3. Appoint a top official within the organization to direct and implement the program. 4. Survey minority and female employment by department and job classification. 5. Develop goals and timetables to improve utilization of minorities and women in each area in which underutilization has been identified. 6. Develop and implement specific programs to achieve goals. 7. Establish an internal audit and reporting system to monitor and evaluate progress in each aspect of the program. 8. Develop supportive in-house and community programs.
Employers excluded from coverage of the Civil Rights Act:
1. U.S. government-owned corporations 2. bona fide, tax-exempt private clubs 3. religious organizations employing people of a specific religion 4. organizations hiring Native Americans on or near a reservation
What are the three EEO rules applicable to federal contractors and agencies?
1. Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (amended in 1974) 2. Executive Order 11246 (1965), as amended by Order 11375 (1966) 3. Executive Order 11478 (1969)
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination based on a person's religion. It does not require employers to grant complete religious freedom in employment situations. Employers need only make a reasonable accommodation for a current employee's or job applicant's religious observance or practice without incurring undue hardship in the conduct of the business. Managers or supervisors may have to accommodate an employee's religion in the specific areas of:
1. holidays and observances (scheduling) 2. personal appearance (wearing beards, veils, or turbans) 3. religious conduct on the job (missionary work among other employees)
The EEOC is responsible for ensuring that covered employers comply with the law. It accomplishes this goal by:
1. issuing various employment guidelines and monitoring the employment practices of organizations 2. protecting employee rights through the investigation and prosecution of discrimination charges
What are fair employment practices laws? Explain.
Almost all states and many municipalities have fair employment practices or equal employment opportunity laws modeled after the federal legislation. Also, in some states and cities the statutes place greater restrictions on employers than the federal laws and extend jurisdiction to employers exempt from federal coverage.
Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972
Amended Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964; strengthens the EEOC's enforcement powers and extends coverage of Title VII to government employees, employees in higher education, and other employers and employees.
Adverse Reject Rate, or Four-Fifths Rule
According to the Uniform Guidelines, a selection program has an adverse impact when the selection rate for any racial, ethnic, or sex class is less the four-fifths (or 80%) of the rate of the with the highest selection rate.
reasonable accommodation
An attempt by employers to adjust, without undue hardship, the working conditions or schedules of employees with disabilities or religious preferences.
How did the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 expand the rights of pregnant women?
Before the act, pregnant women could be forced to resign or take a leave of absence and employers did not have to provide disability or medical coverage for pregnancy. The act makes pregnancy a disability that must be treated similarly to any other medical conditions. The law also prohibits discrimination in the hiring, promotion, transfer or termination of women because of pregnancy.
What job protections does federal law provide to service members when returning from a tour of duty in the uniformed services?
Covering all military personnel, including National Guard members, reservists and active-duty military personnel, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) protects the employment rights of individuals who enter the military for up to five years. They can return to their private sector jobs without risk of loss of seniority or benefits. USERRA protects against discrimination on the basis of military obligation in the areas of hiring, job retention and advancement. Other provisions under the act require employers to make reasonable efforts to retrain or upgrade skills to qualify employees for reemployment, expand health care and employee retirement plan coverage, and extend the length of time an individual may be absent for military duty from four to five years. In 2004, the law was amended by the Veterans Benefits Improvement Act, requiring employers to provide a notice of rights, benefits and obligations of both employees and employers. Accordingly, service members must provide their employers with advance notice of their military obligations in order to be protected by the reemployment rights statute.
Define and explain sexual harassment according to EEOC guidelines.
EEOC guidelines on sexual harassment are specific, stating that "unwelcome advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature" constitute sexual harassment when submission to the conduct is tied to continuing employment or advancement. EEOC recognizes two forms of sexual harassment as being illegal under Title VII. The first, quid pro quo harassment, occurs when "submission to or rejection of sexual conduct is used as a basis for employment decisions." This type of harassment involves a tangible or economic consequence, such as a demotion or loss of pay. If a supervisor promotes an employee only after the person agrees to an after-work date, the conduct is clearly illegal. The second type of harassment, hostile environment, can occur when unwelcome sexual conduct "has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with job performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment." E-mails, instant and text messages and posts on socialnetworking sites are ways by which some employees sexually harass their co-workers electronically. EEOC considers an employer guilty of sexual harassment when the employer knew or should have known about the unlawful conduct and failed to remedy it or to take corrective action. Employers are also guilty of sexual harassment when they allow nonemployees (customers or salespeople) to sexually harass employees.
Describe the roles of the EEOC.
EEOC was established under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It is the leading federal agency in the area of civil rights and is responsible for the administration of the EEO laws. It issues employment guidelines for compliance with the civil rights laws and monitors the employment practices of organizations. EEOC also protects the civil rights of employees through the investigation and prosecution of discrimination charges.
With respect to the operation and activities of EEOC, describe the nature of the charge form.
Employees or job applicants who believe they have been discriminated against may file a discrimination complaint, or charge form, with EEOC. Filing a charge form initiates an administrative procedure. Both parties, the plaintiff (employee) and the defendant (organization) must be prepared to support their beliefs or actions. The processing of a charge includes notifying the employer that a charge of employment discrimination has been filed. Organizations may not retaliate against individuals for their legal right to file charges or to support other employees during EEOC proceedings. The commission has the power to prosecute employers in court if retaliation takes place.
List the areas that should be addressed in a comprehensive training program to prevent and correct discrimination from occurring in the workplace.
Managers and supervisors are key people in preventing and correcting discrimination in hiring, promotion and other areas of employment. Thus they must be trained to understand this. However, all employees should understand the firm's obligations in complying with the law and be familiar with EEOC requirements. Thus a comprehensive training program should cover: the prohibitions covered in the various EEO statutes and executive orders, guidance on how to respond to complaints, procedures for investigating complaints and suggestions for remedying inappropriate behavior. An atmosphere of dignity and respect for all peoples and acceptance of a diverse workforce should be fostered as the ultimate keys to preventing employment discrimination.
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (amended in 2008)
Prohibits discrimination in employment against people with physical or mental disabilities or the chronically ill; enjoins employers to make reasonable accommodation to the employment needs of the disabled; covers employers with 15 or more employees.
Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964 (amended in 1972, 1991, 1994, and 2009)
Prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to enforce the provisions of Title VII.
Executive Order 11246 (1965), as amended by Order 1137 (1966)
Prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin by government contractors with contracts exceeding $10,000; requires contractors employing fifty or more workers to develop affirmative action plans when government contracts exceed $50,000 per year.
Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (amended in 1974)
Prohibits federal contractors from discriminating against disabled individuals in any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance; requires federal contractors to develop affirmative action plans to hire and promote disabled people.
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (amended in 1986 and 1990)
Prohibits private and public employers from discriminating against people age 40 or older in any area of employment because of age; exceptions are permitted when age is a bona fide occupational qualification.
Civil Rights Act of 1991
Provides for compensatory and punitive damages and jury trials in cases involving intentional discrimination; requires employers to demonstrate that job practices are job-related and consistent with business necessity; extends coverage to U.S. citizens working for U.S. companies overseas.
Has AA been uniformly accepted as a national objective? Explain.
Support for AA plans from the public, the judiciary, employers and others is a highly emotional and controversial subject. AA as a national priority has been challenged for the following reasons: (a) AA has not consistently resulted in the improvement of the employment status of protected groups. (b) Individuals hired under AA programs sometimes feel prejudged, assumed capable only of inferior performance and, in fact, these individuals are sometimes viewed by others as "tokens." (c) Affirmative action programs of either voluntary or forced compliance have failed to effectively assimilate protected classes into an organization's workforce. (d) Preferences shown toward one protected class may create conflicts between other minority groups.
Summarize the thrust of the Civil rights Act of 1991.
The Civil Rights Act of 1991 provides for compensatory and punitive damages and jury trials in employment cases involving intentional discrimination or unlawful harassment. Compensatory damages include payment for future money losses, emotional pain, suffering, mental anguish and other nonmonetary losses. Punitive damages are awarded if it can be shown that the employer engaged in discrimination with malice or reckless indifference to the law. The act requires employers to demonstrate that job practices are job related and consistent with business necessity and extends coverage to U.S. citizens working for American companies overseas.
State the basic thrust of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in two important areas. First, the coverage of Title VII was extended to state and local government employees and to the employees of public and private educational institutions. Second, the enforcement powers of EEOC were strengthened by allowing the agency itself to bring enforcement suits, and regional litigation centers were established to provide faster and more effective court action.
Identify the basic provisions concerning employment relations of the Equal Pay Act of 1963.
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was passed as an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Equal Pay Act outlaws discrimination in pay, employee benefits and pensions based on the worker's gender. Employers are prohibited from paying employees of one gender at a rate lower than that paid to members of the other gender for doing equal work. Jobs are considered "equal" when they require substantially the same skill, effort and responsibility under similar working conditions and in the same establishment. Employers do not violate the Equal Pay Act when differences in wages paid to men and women for equal work are based on seniority systems, merit considerations, or quantity or quality of production. However, these exceptions must not be based on the employee's gender or serve to discriminate against one particular gender. Employers may not lower the wages of one gender to comply with the law; rather, they must raise the wages of the gender being underpaid.
Describe the human resources management aspects of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.
The Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973 deals with the problem of discrimination in employment with respect to physically and mentally disabled persons of working age. The statute prohibits discrimination against the disabled, assuming they can perform the work required, by all federal contractors and subcontractors whose contracts exceed $2,500. Recipients of federal financial assistance, such as public and private colleges and universities, also are covered. Covered employers must make a reasonable accommodation, and take affirmative action, to hire disabled individuals, but are not required to employ unqualified persons. The term disabled individual means "any person who (1) has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more of such person's major life activities, (2) has a record of such an impairment, or (3) is regarded as having such an impairment." This definition closely parallels the definition of disabled individual provided in the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Identify and describe ways to show adverse and disparate impact under the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures.
The following methods could be utilized to show that adverse impact is occurring: (a) By showing a violation of the four-fifths (80%) rule. If a selection rate for any racial, ethnic or sex class is less than four-fifths (or 80%) of the rate of the class with the highest selection rate, a selection program has an adverse impact. EEOC has adopted the four-fifths rule as a rule of thumb to determine adverse impact in enforcement proceedings. The four-fifths rule is not a legal definition of discrimination; rather, it is a method by which EEOC or any other enforcement agency monitors serious discrepancies in hiring, promotion or other employment decisions. (b) Alternatively, a method commonly applied in discrimination lawsuits applies standard deviation analysis to the observed applicant flow data. The Supreme Court, in Hazelwood School District v. United States, set forth a standard deviation analysis that has been followed by numerous lower courts. This statistical procedure determines whether the difference between the expected selection rates for protected groups and the actual selection rates could be attributed to chance. If chance is eliminated for the lower selection rates of the protected class, it is assumed that the employer's selection technique has an adverse impact on the employment opportunities of that group. (c) Any evidence that an employer has a selection procedure that excludes members of a protected class, whether intentional or not, constitutes adverse impact. In a benchmark case, the Supreme Court ruled that employer discrimination need not be overt or intentional to be present and that employment practices must be jobrelated. When employers use educational, physical or intelligence standards as a basis for hiring or promotion, these must be absolutely necessary for job success. Under Title VII, good intent, or absence of intent to discriminate, is not a sufficient defense. In EEO cases, it is important to distinguish between adverse impact and disparate treatment discrimination. Adverse impact cases deal with unintentional discrimination; disparate treatment cases involve instances of purposeful discrimination.
How is the concept of managing diversity related to or an outgrowth of attempts at AA?
The future of AA might not rest in voluntary programs, judicial decisions or laws but in managerial attitudes that value diversity in the workforce. Managers who embrace a diverse workforce acknowledge individual employee differences and the contributions made by people of varied backgrounds and abilities. Organizations that approach diversity from a practical, business-oriented perspective (rather than a court-ordered AA mandate) will employ and promote protected class members as a means for developing competitive advantage. Viewed in this manner, greater workforce diversity will significantly enhance organizational performance through knowledge of diverse marketplaces and creative problem solving.
What is a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ)? Explain.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 permits limited exemptions from antidiscrimination regulations if employment preferences are based on a BFOQ, that is, in those cases where age, religion, sex or national origin is an actual qualification for performing a job. The BFOQ exception is narrowly interpreted and does not apply to preferential treatment based on race or color. When an organization claims a BFOQ, it must be able to prove that hiring on the basis of sex, religion, age or national origin is a business necessity. Business necessity has been interpreted by the courts as a practice that is necessary to the safe and efficient operation of the organization. For example, an older person could legitimately be excluded from consideration for employment as a model for teenage designer jeans.
The federal government has adopted and published _______________ to provide employers guidance concerning the appropriateness of specific selection procedures, especially those related to testing and selection. These apply to employee procedures in the areas of hiring, retention, promotion, transfer, demotion, dismissal and referral. Essentially, they recommend that an employer be able to demonstrate that selection procedures are valid in predicting or measuring performance in a particular job.
Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures
Under the_____________________, an employer must be concerned with the composition of the internal workforce when compared with the composition of the external labor market. EEOC refers to this comparison as workforce utilization analysis.
Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures
sexual harassment
Unwelcome advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature in the working environment.
Describe some relatively new forms of employment discrimination.
Weight discrimination is one relatively new form of prejudice in the workforce. Some studies show that weight discrimination, especially against women, is not only increasing but has become almost as common as racial discrimination. Although the EEOC has said that morbid obesity is a protected disability under the ADA, there are no federal laws prohibiting this type of discrimination. There are, though, some city and state laws banning it. Another type of employment discrimination is based on physical characteristics or personal appearance. Again, there are no federal laws prohibiting discrimination in the workforce based on people's attractiveness, although it undoubtedly occurs. Part of the problem of implementing such laws would be deciding who is unattractive enough to be protected by the law. Moreover in some instances, good looks can be a BFOQ. Finally, employees with caregiving responsibilities have been found to be discriminated against. The EEOC has issued enforcement guidelines to help prevent such discrimination.
at parity
When an employer's internal workforce reflects the external labor market.
underutilized
When the employer's racial workforce composition is below external figures.
Explain how affirmative action (AA) fits within EEO policy, when AA is used and why employers establish AA programs.
While EEO law is largely a policy of nondiscrimination, AA requires employers to analyze their workforce and develop a plan of action to correct areas of past discrimination. AA is achieved by having organizations follow specific guidelines and goals to ensure that they have a balanced and representative workforce. Employers establish AA programs for several reasons. AA programs are required by OFCCP for employers with federal contracts greater than $50,000. AA programs may also be required by court order when an employer has been found guilty of past discrimination. Many employers voluntarily develop their own AA programs to ensure that protected class members receive fair treatment in all aspects of employment. In pursuing AA, employers may be accused of reverse discrimination; therefore, it is important that employers wishing to implement voluntary AA plans show justification for the plan and reasonableness of the methods used to implement it. Voluntary AA programs must be remedial in intent and not punitive. Establishing rigid employment quotas, reserving job positions, hiring unqualified workers or laying off employees in order to hire or retain protected class members are clearly illegal employer actions.
