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Equal Opportunity Employment

Chapter 3

By

Noreen Saher

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Introduction

Government legislation

affects all HRM

functions

State and municipal

laws impact HRM, as

well as the Federal laws

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Laws Affecting Discriminatory

Practices

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Civil Rights Act of 1964

Title VII prohibits discrimination in:hiring

compensation

terms, conditions or privileges of employmentbased on:

race

religion

colorsex

national origin

Applies to any organization with 15 or more

employees.

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Civil Rights Act of 1964

Griggs v. Duke Power Company (1971)

demonstrated that selection criteria must be

directly relevant to the job.

Equal Employment Opportunity Act(1972) (EEOA)

Granted enforcement powers to the EEOC

Equal Employment Opportunity

Commission (EEOC)

The arm of the federal government empowered

to handle discrimination in employment cases

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Voluntary Action Plans by

Organisations

Affirmative ActionReflect the 1972 premise that white malesmade up the majority of workers

Companies in the 70s were still growing andcould accommodate more workers

Minorities should be hired to correct pastprejudice

Legal and social coercion were necessary to

bring about changeInvolves:

analyzing current work force demographics

establishing goals and timetables for correcting

imbalances

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Controversy and criticism of preferences inemployment for protected groups iscausing legislative bodies to take a secondlook at Affirmative Action.

Adverse (disparate) impactoccurs when there is a greater rejection rate inan occupation for a protectedgroup (thoseprotected under discrimination laws) than for

the majority group.

Adverse (disparate/unequal) treatmentoccurs when members of a protected group aretreated differently than other employees.

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Practices

Executive Order (E.O.) 11246

Prohibits discrimination on the basis of

religion, color, and national origin

Affects

Federal agencies

Those working under federal contracts

Executive Order (E.O.) 11375

Added sex-based discrimination

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Practices

Age Discrimination in

Employment Act of 1967

protects those 40 and older

eliminates mandatory

retirement and the arbitrary

replacement of older

workers with youngerworkers

provides for oversight in

pension and benefit issues

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Practices

Pregnancy Discrimination

Act of 1978

Employment decisions may not

be based on an individuals

pregnancy

Must treat pregnancy as any

other short-term disabilitySupplemented by various state

laws

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Practices

The Americans with

Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)

Extends protection ofVocational

Rehabilitation Act to most forms ofdisability status (including AIDS

and other contagious diseases).

Requires companies to make

reasonable accommodations forqualified applicants and

employees.

Covers private companies and all

public service organizations.

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Practices

The Family and Medical Leave Act of1993

Employees in organizations employing 50 ormore workers can take up to 12 weeks

unpaid leave each year forChildbirth

Adoption

Own illness or illness of a family member

Employees must meet eligibility requirementsto be covered.

Employers must meet certain communicationrequirements under the Act.

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Practices

Executive Order 11478

Amends E.O. 11246

Practices in the federal government

must be based on merit

Prohibits discrimination based on:

Political affiliation

Marital statusPhysical handicap

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Practices

Civil Rights Act of 1991Passed afterSupreme Court decisionsdiminished effect of Griggs decision.

Prohibits racial harassment

Returns burden of proof to employer

Reinforces illegality of making hiring, firing orpromotion decisions on basis of race, ethnicity,sex or religion

Permits women and religious minorities to seekpunitive (penalized /biased) damages inintentional discriminatory claims

Included the Glass Ceiling Act

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Guarding Against Discrimination

Practices

Determining Potential Discriminatory

Practices

The 4/5ths Rule

Restricted Policy

Geographical Comparisons

McDonnell-Douglas Test

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Practices

The 4/5ths Rule

Guideline established by EEOC Uniform

Guidelines on Employee Selection

Procedures.

Compares selection ratio for minority

applicants to that for majority applicants

If less than 4/5ths (80%), discriminationmay have occurred.

Applies to all steps in a selection

process.

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Practices

Restricted Policy

infractions occur when HRM activities

result in exclusion of a class of

individualsE.g., laying off employees over age 40 while

recruiting younger workers

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Practices

Geographical Comparisons

Characteristics of the qualified

pool of potential applicants

are compared to

characteristics of employees

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Practices

McDonnell-Douglas Test

Individual is member of a protected

group.

Individual is qualified for job.

Individual is rejected.

Organization continues to seek other

applicants with similar qualifications.

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Responding to an EEO Charge

Employers should discontinue

practices which cannot be defended.

Practice reinstated only after

Careful study

Practice is modified, if necessary

Three defenses:

Business necessity

Bona Fide occupations qualifications

Seniority System

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Business Necessity

the right to expect employees

to perform successfully

shown by demonstrating that

selection criteria are job-

related

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Bona Fide Occupational

Qualifications

Can be use whenjob requirements are

Reasonably necessary to meet thenormal operation of that business or

enterprise

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Seniority Systems

Decisions that adversely affect protected

group members may be permissible if:

Based on well-established and

consistently applied seniority systems

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Selected Relevant Supreme

Court Cases

Cases Concerning Discrimination

Cases Concerning Reverse Discrimination

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Court Cases

Cases concerning discrimination

Griggs v. Duke Power(1971): Tests

were illegal when they resulted in

adverse impact and were not job

related.

Albemarle Paper Company v. Moody

(1975): Clarified methods for using

and validating tests in selection

Wards Cove Packing Company v.

Atonio (1989): Statistics alone could

not support evidence of discrimination;

burden of proof shifted to the plaintiff.

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Court Cases

Cases concerning reversediscrimination

Bakke v. the Regents of the University

of California at Davis Medical School(1978): School could not set aside

seats for minorities.

United Steelworkers of America v.

Weber(1979): Court supported

companys voluntary affirmative action

training program for minorities.

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Court Cases

Firefighter Local 1784 v. Stotts(1984) & Wyant v. Jackson Board ofEducation (1986):

Affirmative action may not takeprecedence over a seniority system

Collective bargaining agreement givingpreferential treatment to minorities inlayoffs was illegal.

Johnson v. Santa Clara CountyTransportation (1987):

Preferential treatment based on AAgoals permitted if non-minorities

protected.

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Enforcing Equal Employment

Opportunity

Equal Employment

Opportunity Commission

Jurisdiction for Title VII and

other legislation that coverscharges of discrimination

based on race, color, sex,

national origin, age or

disability.

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Five Step Process to Pursue

Charges

1. EEOC notifies company within 10 days of

filing and begins investigation

2. EEOC notifies company of findings within

120 days3. If unfounded, process stops

If founded, EEOC tries to resolve

4. If unsuccessful, EEOC begins mediation(settlement meeting)

5. If unsuccessful, EEOC may file charges

in court

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Enforcing Equal Employment

Opportunity

Office of Federal Contract CompliancePrograms (OFCCP)

EnforcesExecutive Order 11246

Section 503 of Vocational Rehabilitation Act

Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Act of 1974.

Operates within U.S. Dept. of Labor.

Investigates discrimination complaints; process

similar to that of EEOC.Can cancel employers contract with federalgovernment

Applies to any organization with a federalcontract or acts as a subcontractor.

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HRM in a Global Environment

Laws affecting Human

Resource Management vary

greatly by country.

Canadian laws closely

parallel those in the U.S.

In Mexico, employees more

likely to be unionized.

Australias discrimination

laws not enacted until the

1980s

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Current Issues in Employment

Law

What is Sexual Harassment?Unwanted activity of a sexual nature thataffects an individuals employment

Prohibited under Title VII as sex discrimination

Sexual harassment can occur where:verbal or physical conduct toward anindividual:

(1) creates an intimidating, offensive, or hostile

environment

(2) unreasonably interferes with an individualswork

(3) adversely affects employees employment

opportunities.

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Law

Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson SupremeCourt case: supported hostile

environment claims; identified employer

liability.

Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc. Supreme

Court case: victims dont have to suffer

substantial mental distress.

1998 Supreme Court ruling indicated thatharassment can take place even if the

employee does not experience any

negative job repercussions.

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Law

Are Women Reaching the Top ofOrganizations?

Comparable worth - determining fair pay for both

female-oriented jobs and male-oriented jobs

based on comparable skill, effort, andresponsibility.

Glass ceiling - lack of women and minority

representation at the top levels of organizations.

OFCCP has glass ceiling initiative.Promotes career development

for women and minorities.

Looks for such in its audits.

Documents

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