Equal Employment

Opportunity
Introduction
’ If you’ve ever experienced the adverse effects of
favoritism in the workplace, you know that it can
be very frustrating when a coworker receives
favorable treatment, such as a better schedule, a
raise, or promotion, for no justifiable reason.

’ It doesn’t seem fair to employees who are just as

qualified and may even work harder than the person
who management favors, yet don’t have the same
opportunities or rewards because of an employer bias.
’ Certainly management needs to make hiring
decisions based on who would be a better
employee, but those decisions should be made by
hiring or promoting the best employees based
on their qualifications and how well they fit the
job requirements, rather than irrelevant criteria
or personal bias against a person’s gender, color,
age, religion, or any other protected status.
 Laws Affecting Discriminatory Practices

’ Illegal discrimination is the process of making

employment decisions such as hiring, firing,
discipline, pay, promotions, leaves, or layoffs
based on criteria such as race, religion, gender,
national origin, skin color, or any other criteria
that has been identified as a protected category by
equal employment laws or regulations.
’ Let’s take a look at the laws that define illegal
discrimination in employment and the protection
they provide.
The Importance of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
’ The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was divided into parts called
titles—each dealing with a particular type of
discrimination. HRM purposes, Title VII of the act is
especially relevant.

’ Title VII prohibits discrimination in hiring, promotion,

dismissal, benefits, compensation, or any other terms,
conditions, or privileges of employment based on race,
religion, color, gender, or national origin.

’ Title VII also prohibits retaliation against an individual

who files a charge of discrimination, participates in an
investigation, or opposes any unlawful practice.
Let’s take a closer look at the types of employment
protection provided in Title VII.
’ Race and Color Discrimination: Racial and color
discrimination involves treating an employee or
applicant differently because of a personal
characteristic that is related to race such as hair
texture, skin color, or facial features.
’ Religious Discrimination: Religious discrimination
includes treatment of applicants or employees
differently because of religious beliefs and how they
are practiced.
’ National Origin Discrimination: National origin
discrimination involves issues of citizenship and
permanent residence status, and is often related to race or
color discrimination.
’ Sex or Gender Discrimination: Sex or gender
discrimination takes many forms. (1) The wage gap
between men and Women, any (2) job requirement that
holds one sex to a different procedure, standard, or
qualification than the other may be discriminatory. In
addition to the pay issue discussed earlier, possible
discriminatory practices include (3) differences in
policies regarding leaves of absence, benefits, unique job
categories and promotions, dress codes, training
opportunities, and more.
’ Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967: The
Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967
prohibits the widespread practice of requiring workers to
retire at age 65. It also gives protected-group status to
individuals between the ages of 40 and 65.
’ Equal Pay Act: The Equal Pay Act was enacted in 1963
with the intent of eliminating the practice of paying
women lower wages for the same or similar jobs held
by men. It was common practice to alter jobs
slightly to justify higher pay for men because they
had a family to support.
’ Pregnancy Discrimination: Employers were
motivated by the desire to reduce work disruptions
due to women who took time off for pregnancy
complications, childbirth, or care of a newborn. In
1978, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act amended
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act to prohibit sex
discrimination on the basis of pregnancy.
’ The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990:
This act and its accompanying amendment
prohibit employment discrimination on the basis
of disability in employment for private employers,
state and local governments, and labor
organizations with fifteen or more employees

’ The Civil Rights Act of 1991: it was passed to

restore rights of employees who sued employers
for discrimination after a series of Supreme Court
decisions limited those rights.
’ The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993: was
passed in 1993 to provide workers an opportunity to balance
family responsibilities and work. It allows unpaid leave for
specific family related reasons like childbirth, adoption, the
employee’s own illness, or to care for a sick family member, with
a guarantee of retaining an employee’s job when he or she
returns from leave. Example: provides employees with up to 12
weeks of unpaid leave each year to care for family members or
for their own medical reasons
’ Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act
(GINA) of 2008: GINA prohibits employers with fifteen or
more employees from discriminating on the basis of genetic
information when making any employment-related
decisions, including insurance covered participation in
wellness programs.
 Preventing Discrimination
’ The number of laws and regulations makes it critical
for HRM to stay informed on the best way to prevent
discriminatory practices in the workplace and train
managers and supervisors in the latest laws.
’ The best prevention is an organizational culture that
encourages equal employment opportunity, tolerance,
acceptance, and good communication.
’ Recall from our earlier discussion that employment
discrimination may stem from any employment
decision based on factors other than those relevant
to the job. Should that occur frequently, the organization
may face charges that it discriminates against some
members of a protected group.
Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection
Procedures:
’ In 1979, several government agencies with
responsibilities for enforcing equal employment laws
issued a document called Uniform Guidelines on
Employee Selection Procedures.
’ This document makes it clear that (1) HR hiring
policies and (2) employee selection procedures
must be tied to specific job-related factors and (3)
cannot be discriminatory.
’ It also outlines (4) the requirements necessary for
employers to prove that hiring and employee selection
practices observe equal employment laws.
’ Determining Potential Discriminatory
Practices:
1. Adverse impact.
2. Adverse (disparate) treatment
3. 4/5 ths rule
4. Restricted Policy
5. Geographical Comparisons
’ Determining Potential Discriminatory
Practices:
’ Adverse impact: can be described as a
consequence of an employment practice that
results in a greater rejection rate for a minority
group than for the majority group in the
occupation.
’ Adverse (disparate) treatment: an employment
situation where protected group members
receive treatment different from other
employees in matters such as performance
evaluations and promotions.
’ 4/5 ths rule: a rough indicator of discrimination, this
rule requires that the number of minority members a
company hires must equal at least 80 percent of the
majority members in the population hired.
’ Restricted Policy: a restricted policy occurs whenever
HRM activities exclude a class of individuals. For
instance, assume a company is restructuring and laying off
an excessive number of employees over age 40.
’ Geographical Comparisons: a third means of
supporting discriminatory claims is through the use
of a geographic comparison. In this instance, the
characteristics of the potential qualified pool of applicants
in an organization’s hiring market are compared to the
characteristics of its employees.
’ Responding to an EEO Charge:
If HRM practices have adversely impacted an employee
group in an organization, the employer has a few remedies for
dealing with valid allegations.
’ First, the employer should discontinue the practice.
Only after careful study should the practice, or a modified
version, be reinstated. However, if enough evidence exists,
an employer may choose to defend the disputed practice.
’ Generally, three defenses can be used when confronted
with an allegation of discrimination by adverse impact.
These are:
(1) job relatedness or business necessity,
(2) bona fide occupational qualifications, and
(3) seniority systems.
1. Business Necessity: An organization has the right to
operate in a safe and efficient manner. This includes
business practices necessary for the organization to
survive. A major portion of business necessity
involves job-relatedness factors, or having the right
to expect employees to perform successfully.
2. Bona Fide Occupational Qualifications (BFOQ):
Under Title VII, a BFOQ is permitted where such
requirements are “reasonably necessary to meet
the normal operation of that business or
enterprise.”
3. Seniority Systems: Decisions such as promotions,
pay, and layoffs are made on the basis of an
employee’s seniority or length of service.
Current Issues in Employment Law
’ As employment law evolves to respond to
the dynamic environment of HRM, legal
issues arise as employees seek to clarify
and assert their rights. Let’s take a look at
several current legal issues including (1)
sexual harassment, (2) comparable worth,
(3) English only laws, (4) sexual orientation
discrimination, and (5) current trends in
state and local laws.
’ Sexual Harassment: Anything of a sexual nature
that creates a condition of employment, an
employment consequence, or a hostile or offensive
environment.
’ Comparable Worth and Equal Pay Issues: Equal
pay for jobs similar in skills, responsibility, working
conditions, and effort.
’ English Only Laws and Policies: Can an
organization require its employees to speak only
English on the job? The answer is a definite “maybe.”
English-only rules are discriminatory in terms of
national origin in that they create an adverse impact
for non–English-speaking individuals.
’ Appearance and Weight Discrimination:
Discrimination based on weight and appearance
isn’t likely to end soon. Federal equal employment laws
don’t protect weight or appearance,.
’ Weight and height requirements must be related to
job performance, and employers may be concerned
that excess weight may limit an applicant’s ability to do
the job.
’ Workers with other appearance issues such as
piercings and tattoos are having a little better luck,
but very little. Piercings and tattoos are only protected
if they worn for religious reasons, therefore protected
by Title VII.