Chapter 3
Four-fifths rule
Courts have not required companies to employ exactly the same proportion of people from all categories. Rather, they adopted the four-fifths rule It is violated when the percentage of people selected from one group is less than 80 percent of the percentage of people selected from the best- represented group. A potential victim of adverse impact discrimination would simply need to show that the company selects people from the protected class at this lower rate. The burden of proof would then falls to the company to demonstrate the validity of its selection procedures.
Discrimination and equal employment opportunity
Discrimination: in employment occurs when all people are not given the same (equal) opportunity for employment and promotions What is equal employment opportunity? It means that people should be given an equal chance to obtain employment regardless of their race, color, national origin, gender, or religion. Title VII offers protection from three distinct types of discrimination: disparate treatment, adverse impact, and harassment
How do US laws apply to foreign countries
General rule: if the employer is a US company, then its employees who are US citizens are protected. U.S. discrimination law, unless such protection would violate the laws of the country where the job is located.
Affirmative action
Goes beyond equal opportunity and aims at increasing representation of employees from protected classes who have historically been victims of discrimination This was accomplished through Executive Order 11246. Executive order: issued by the president; not passed by Congress
validity
Is shown when the measures used to select employee provide assessments that accurately identify the people most likely to succeed.
Disparate treatment
Is the specific practice of treating certain types of people differently than others In most cases, title VII prohibits disparate treatment Exception: Bona Fide Occupational Qualification It is reasonable to assume that only a person with that particular characteristic can do the job. A BFOQ usually applies to gender—and in some cases religion—and means that it is reasonable to assume that only a person with that particular characteristic can do the job
Quid Pro Quo
Latin: this for that Applies to sexual harassment: It occurs when an employee is told that continued employment or advancement depends on sexual favors It is illegal to make employment consequences dependent on sexual favors. Even a single quid pro quo statement by a supervisor is enough to warrant a sexual harassment action under Title VII.
The civil rights acts of 1991
Made amendment of title VII The most important was the shifting of the burden of proof to companies accused of adverse impact discrimination Another change was to make race-norming illegal Race-norming: in comparison to the same racial group Now an individual's scores must be compared with all other scores, not just with the scores of members of his or her own group. The act of 1991 allowed for punitive damages to be awarded along with actual damages. This substantially increased the award of a victim could receive. Punitive damages are payments designed to punish the company and can be substantially higher than actual damages Another change was prior to 1991 judges heard employment cases. The 1991 act allows jury trials for employment discrimination cases. The result was juries appear to be more willing than judges to award punitive damages.
EEOC
Major part of title VII is equal employment opportunity commission The EEOC is a federal agency in charge of administrative and judicial enforcement of federal civil rights laws. The commission is led by five commissioners who are appointed by the President of the United States. The President also appoints a general counsel who conducts and oversees litigation. An individual who feels that he or she has been the victim of employment discrimination can file a complaint with the EEOC. EEOC will then investigate the claim.
How can organizations encourage safety compliance
Management values Safety communication Safety training Safety systems
Adverse impact
Occurs when a company's policies treat all applicants the same but result in different employment opportunities for different groups. Companies do not violate the law when they hire fewer applicants from a protected class if they use appropriate methods to make hiring decisions. A common defense for adverse impact is thus validity.
How can organizations increase diversity?
Opportunity enhancement programs: identity and actively recruit underrepresented groups. Equal opportunity programs: elimination of biases and unfair treatment Tiebreak programs: minority status- a plus Preferential treatment programs
Age discrimination in employment act
Provides Title VII protections to older workers The law applies to everyone over 40 and with 20 or more employees The ADEA protects people from several types of discrimination, including disparate treatment, adverse impact, and hostile environment discrimination. Historically focused mostly on termination decisions Disparate treatment Terminate an older worker for a younger one Terminates a number of employees in all age categories but then offers younger workers better opportunities for other positions Adverse impact Hostile environment An older women going through menopause successfully used ADEA in her claim that comments related to her age were intimidating and hostile
Worker compensation
Provides protection for employees who are injured or disabled while working. It is in the form of an insurance program. Employers are required to carry worker's compensation insurance. Benefits Payment of medical expenses Replacement income Income for family members of workers who were killed on the job Worker's compensation is a no-fault and exclusive remedy for injury This means that insurance must compensate an injured employee even if the actions of the employee cannot bring a lawsuit to try to collect more money than what is provided by the insurance policy.
Title VII of the civil rights act of 1964
Provides protection to all people based on five specific traits Race, color, national origin, religion and sex These groups are referred to as protected classes The law originally covered companies with 25 or more employees. It has been amended to exclude only companies with fewer than 15 employees. Religious institutions are exempted from the law.
Executive order 11246
Requires any organization doing business with the federal government to have an affirmative action plan It applies to governmental contracts valued at over $10,000 One requirement, of the order, is the business conduct a utilization study This compares the percentages of women and minorities currently holding jobs in the company with the percentages of minorities and women in the population of the immediate labor area. Second step Specific plans to increase the representation of women and minorities in the company's work force Plans are note to include quotas, which prescribe certain percentages to be hired. It is flexible Organizations must then show a good faith effort, or reasonable actions, to achieve the goal and timetables There is no requirement to hire unqualified workers. In recent years a series of court decisions has placed important restrictions on affirmative action practices. One of the first of these cases concerned medical school admission. (result in reverse discrimination) The court cases have also focused on the issue of layoffs> (too high a cost to others) More recently a contractor was found guilty of discrimination for giving favorable status to minority subcontractors. (not specifically tailored to a particular problem).
Hostile environment
This occurs when comments or behavior in the workplace have the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment Victims need not show that the comments and actions make them completely incapable of performing their jobs, only that the environment had a negative impact on their psychological well-being.
The family medical leave act
Under the FMLA, and employee- either male or female may request and unpaid leave of absence, for up to 12 weeks, for four reasons: ' If they are sick Needs to care for an immediate family member. Needs to care for a newborn child Care for child just adopted by or placed in foster care FMLA covers companies with 50 or more employees who live within 75 miles of the workplace In order to be eligible for the leave and employee must have worked for the company for at least 12 months and must have worked at least 1,250. Employees who take leave under FLMA receive no pay while they are working Company is required to continue providing health-care coverage under a group plan. Employees should inform employers before taking leave on medical conditions.
sexual harassment
Unwelcomed sexual advances request for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when: submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment, submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual, such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.
The equal pay act
Was passed in 1963, addresses the issues of pay differences for men and women. Unlike many other laws, this act applies only to gender The equal pay act specifically makes it illegal for a company to pay men and women different wages, as long as they are doing equal work. Equal work is defined as tasks that require equal skill, effort, and responsibility and that are performed under similar working conditions. How to make sure two jobs are truly different: One job must require extra effort and more time than the other That job must affect the company's financial results more than the other job Nondiscriminatory reasons that people in the same job are paid differently: Seniority Merit Piece-rate system Comparable worth: determining what each job is work to the company and paying accordingly. Recommendations HR department must conduct job analysis a tools for determining when jobs are equal Job evaluation uses surveys and stats to determine how much to pay based on comparisons within organization and with other organizations. Measuring performance, assessing the contribution made by each employee ensuring that people who contribute more are paid more
harassment
What is Harassment? It is when an employee is persistently annoyed or alarmed by the improper words or actions of other people in the workplace, such as supervisors or coworkers. Most cases of harassment, however, involve behavior directed at an employee because of his or her gender. This is called Sexual Harassment.
The Americans with disabilities act
The ADA provides protection for individuals with physical and mental disabilities Physical disabilities: loss of arm or leg, blindness, and chronic illnesses. Mental disabilities: bi polar, Excludes Sexual behavior disorders, gambling addictions Currently using illegal drugs Disability that can be easily fixed Protects people in two other categories: People who have a record of having a disability in the past Those who are regarded as having a disability, even if they do not ADA applies only when the disabled person has the knowledge, skills, and abilities that are essential for performing a job. The ADA may require companies to provide disabled individuals with reasonable accommodation. What is a reasonable accommodation? It is a change in the work environment or in the way things are customarily done that enables an individual with a disability to enjoy equal employment opportunities. The organization may not have to make reasonable accommodations if doing so would create undue hardship for the organization. Undue hardship is determined by looking at the organizations financial resources, size, and what it produces. Asking people whether they have a disability on an application form/ or during an interview is g generally prohibited. Conducting a medical exam to learn of a disability is also prohibited Exception: A medical exam can be required after a conditional job offer has been made, as long as the medical exam is required of all job applicants. Employers cannot ask the employee whether he/she has a condition that limits the ability to perform job-related Employees bear the responsibility to ask for accommodation.
occupational safety and health act
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is an organization within the US department of Labor that was created to help enforce the act Officers of the agency can enter and inspect factories, plants or other worksites They can also issue citations to companies that are not in compliance with safety requirements Employers that do not follow the guidelines of OSHA may receive civil penalties in the form of fines OSHA requires employers to keep records and safety practices and incidents Must have records of the information they provide to teach employees about the health concerns and dangers present in the workplace Keep track of all illnesses and injuries that occur at work Conduct periodic inspections to make sure that the workplace is safe In these inspections, they examine and test structures, machines, and materials to make sure that things are operating properly and not placing employees in dangerous situations. Employers must provide information and keep employees informed of protections and safety obligations. Some specific safety standards Hazardous chemicals Hazard communication standard Emergency plans Emergency action plan standard Workspace layout Walking/working surfaces standard Medical and first aid Medical and first aid standard