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Chapter 3

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THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT: EQUAL EMPLOYMENT

OPPORTUNITY AND SAFETY


Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
The Legal System in the United States
 Three major responsibilities:

o Investigating and resolving discrimination


complaints

o Gathering information

o Issuing guidelines

Types of Discrimination

 The legislative branch of the federal government


consists of the House of Representatives and the
Senate. These bodies enact laws that govern many
HR activities.

 The executive branch consists of the president of the


United States and the regulatory agencies the
president oversees.

 The judicial branch consists of the federal court


system, which is made up of three levels.

o U.S. district courts and quasi-judicial Disparate Treatment


administrative agencies.
 Disparate treatment exists when individuals in
o The U.S. Court of Appeals similar situations are treated differently based upon
race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or
o The Supreme Court disability status.
Equal Employment Opportunity o Bona fide occupational qualifications (BFOQ) -
 Equal employment opportunity refers to the A characteristic that is necessary, rather than
government's attempt to ensure that all individuals preferred, for a job.
have an equal chance for employment, regardless of o McDonnell Douglas Corp v. Green
race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
Disparate Impact
Congressional Legislation
 Disparate impact occurs when a facially neutral
 The Reconstruction Civil Rights Acts (1866 and employment practice disproportionately excludes a
1871) protected group from employment opportunities.
o These acts were attempts to further the goal of o Four-fifths rule - a test has disparate impact if
eradicating slavery. the hiring rate for the minority group is less
o Patterson v. McClean Credit Union than four-fifths (80 percent) of the hiring rate
for the majority group.
 Equal Pay Act of 1963 - requires that men and
women in the same organization who are doing o Standard deviation rule - uses actual probability
equal work must be paid equally. distributions to determine adverse impact.

 Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 - makes it o Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Antonio
illegal for an employer to "fail or refuse to hire or o Griggs v. Duke Power
discharge any individual because of the individual's
race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
Reasonable Accommodation Sexual Harassment

 Reasonable Accommodation - places a special  Sexual harassment refers to unwanted sexual


obligation on an employer to affirmatively do advances.
something to accommodate an individual’s
o Quid pro quo harassment occurs when some
disability or religion.
type of benefit or punishment is made
o Religion and Accommodation - Individuals who contingent upon the employee submitting to
hold strong religious beliefs find that some of sexual advances.
the observations and practices of their religion
o Bundy v. Jackson
come into contact with work duties.
o A hostile working environment occurs when
o Disability and Accommodation - Employers are
someone's behavior in the workplace creates an
not only to refrain from discrimination (ADA)
environment that makes it difficult for someone
but they are also obligated to take affirmative
of a particular sex to work.
steps to accommodate individuals who are
protected under the act. o Ron Clark Ford of Amarillo, TX, and Babies ‘R’ Us
Retaliation for Participation and Opposition  Three critical conditions for Sexual Harassment
 Title VII states that employers cannot retaliate cases:
against employees for either "opposing" a perceived o The plaintiff cannot have "invited or incited" the
illegal employment practice or "participating in a advances
proceeding,” related to an alleged illegal
employment practice. o Harassment must have been severe

 However, employees do not have an unlimited right o The court must determine the liability of the
to talk about how racist or sexist their employers organization for actions of its employees
are.
 Preventative steps for firms include development of
o The courts tend to frown on employees whose a policy statement, training in inappropriate
activities result in a poor public image for the behaviors, development of a reporting mechanism,
company unless those employees attempted to and disciplinary policy.
use the organization’s internal channels. Affirmative Action and Reverse Discrimination
Current Issues Regarding Diversity and Equal
 Affirmative Action was conceived of as a way of
Employment Opportunity
taking extra effort to attract and retain minority
Issues regarding diversity are increasingly important. employees.

 Imposed quota programs are negotiated with the


EEOC and hold a certain number of positions for
minorities or women.

 The entire debate over affirmative action continues


to invoke attention. Many people consider quotas
or preferential treatment as reverse discrimination.
Outcomes of the Americans with Disabilities Act

 Under ADA, a firm must make "reasonable


accommodation" to a physically or mentally
disabled individual unless doing so would impose
"undue hardship.”

 Consequences of this act:

o There has been increased litigation

o The kinds of cases being filed do not reflect


Congressional intent

o The act was passed to protect people with


major disabilities, however, major disabilities
account for less than 4 percent of claims.

o The law has not resulted in a major increase in


the proportion of people with disabilities who
are working.

Safety Awareness Programs

 Safety awareness programs attempt to instill


symbolic and substantive changes to a safety
program.

 There are three primary components of a safety


awareness program:

o Identifying and Communicating Job Hazards

 The job hazard analysis technique breaks


jobs down into basic elements that are then
rated for their potential for harm.

 Technic of Operations Review (TOR) focuses


on past accidents and their causes.

o Reinforcing Safe Practices

o Promoting Safety Internationally

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