2 Weekly Summary and 2 Discussions

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Chapter 3 Equal Employment Opportunity and Human Resources Management

Learning Outcomes

Prepare an outline describing the major equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws related to issues such as age, gender, religion, weight, and sexual orientation. Determine the employment practices they prohibit and the reason behind passage of EEO legislation. Describe what a bona fide occupational qualification is

Explain how the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures were developed and how firms use them to ensure they are abiding by the law. Understand adverse impact and disparate treatment

Learning Outcomes

Understand EEOC record-keeping and posting requirements and describe how discrimination charges are processed by the EEOC

Explain what affirmative action is and how companies today are seeing the value of voluntarily having diverse workforces

Introduction

Equal employment opportunity (EEO)

Treatment of individuals in all aspects of employment—hiring, promotion, and training in a fair and nonbiased manner

Equal employment opportunity commission (EEOC)

Federal agency that enforces nation’s fair employment laws

Introduction

Lack of awareness fair employment laws leads to:

Risk of costly and time-consuming litigation

Negative public attention

Low sales and employee morale

Damage an individual’s careers

Historical Perspective of EEO Legislation

Factors that influenced growth of EEO legislation

Changing attitudes toward employment discrimination

Published reports on economic problems and injustices experienced by minority workers

Growing body of disparate discrimination laws and regulations at different levels of government that legislators felt should be standardized

Changing National Values

Beginning of civil rights movement in late 1950s and early 1960 saw public’s change in attitude toward discrimination

Minorities conducted marches, sit-ins and rallies with public authorities to draw attention to low economic and occupational positions

Civil rights and women’s movements received wide media coverage

Employment Non-Discrimination Act extends federal employment discrimination protection to include sexual orientation and gender identity

Early Legal Developments

Civil Rights Act, 1866

Permitted right to enjoy full and equal benefits of all laws, regardless of race

Unemployment Relief Act, 1933

Prohibited employment discrimination based on race, color, or creed

Executive Order 8802, 1941

Ensured every American citizen would be guaranteed equal employment opportunities for workers employed by firms awarded World War II defense contracts

Causes for Failure of Employment Discrimination

Nondiscrimination laws failed to give enforcement powers to the agency charged with upholding the law

Laws that were passed neglected to list specific discriminatory practices that needed to be corrected

Employers covered by the acts were required only to comply voluntarily with the equal employment opportunity legislation

Figure 3.1 - Prohibited Discriminatory Employment Practices

Major Federal Laws

Enacted to prevent discrimination against the protected classes

Protected classes: Individuals of a minority race, women, older people, and those with disabilities who are covered by federal laws on equal employment opportunity

Equal Pay Act of 1963

Illegal to discriminate against people in terms of pay, employee benefits, and pension earned based on gender, when equal work is done

A company does not violate the Equal Pays Act if the difference in wages between the genders is due to:

Seniority

Merit considerations

Worker’s quantity and quality of production

If a disparity in pay exists, employers must raise the wages of the underpaid gender to comply with the laws

Not lower the wages of the overpaid gender

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Addresses discrimination in society in general

Title VII of the acct specifically bars employment discrimination in all HR activities and other conditions of employment

Jurisdiction

All private employers in interstate commerce who employ 15 or more employees for 20 or more weeks per year

State and local governments and private and public employment agencies

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Joint labor-management committees that govern apprenticeship or training programs

Labor unions having 15 or more members or employees

Public and private educational institutions

Foreign subsidiaries of U.S. organizations employing U.S. citizens

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

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

Prohibits employment discrimination based on a person’s religion

Does not require employers to grant complete religious freedom in employment situations

Requires employers make a reasonable accommodation without incurring undue hardship in conduct of the business

Figure 3.2 - Major Laws Affecting Equal Employment Opportunity

Figure 3.4 - EEO Rules Applicable to Federal Contractors and Agencies

Fair Employment Practices (FEPs)

State and local laws governing equal employment opportunity that are more comprehensive than federal laws and apply to small employers

Prohibits discrimination based on a person’s sexual orientation, physical appearance, marital status, arrest records, color blindness, or political affiliation

Fair Employment Practice Agencies (FEPAs) - State and local agencies that enforce antidiscrimination laws

Other Equal Employment Opportunity Issues - Sexual Harassment

Unwelcome advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature in the working environment

Forms of sexual harassment illegal under Title VII

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 demotion or loss of pay

Other Equal Employment Opportunity Issues - Sexual Harassment

Hostile environment

Occurs when unwelcome sexual conduct has purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with job performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment

Other Equal Employment Opportunity Issues - Sexual Orientation

Executive Order 13087 bars discrimination against civilian employees of federal government based on their sexual orientation

Homosexuals are protected by fair employment practice laws passed at state and local levels

Other Equal Employment Opportunity Issues - Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA)

Employers must comply with the requirements of Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA)

Employers covered by law are prohibited from knowingly hiring or retaining unauthorized aliens on the job

Employers with four or more employees are prohibited from discriminating in hiring or termination decisions based on nationality or citizenship

Other Equal Employment Opportunity Issues - Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA)

E-Verification system - Provides an automated link to federal databases to help employers determine:

Legal eligibility of workers

Validity of their Social Security numbers

Actions for Employers to Comply with IRCA

Have employees fill out their part of Form I-9

Check documents establishing an employee’s identity and eligibility to work

Complete the employer’s section of Form I-9

Retain Form I-9 for at least three years

Present Form I-9 for inspection to an Immigration and Naturalization Service officer or to a Department of Labor officer upon request

Emerging Employment Discrimination Issues

Weight discrimination

Attractiveness and discrimination

Caregivers and discrimination

Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures

Procedural document published in the Federal Register to help employers comply with federal regulations against discriminatory actions

Applies to employee selection procedures in:

Hiring, retention, and referral

Promotion and demotion

Transfer and dismissal

Help comply with requirements of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination

Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures - Validity

Employers must be able to prove that selection instrument used to choose individuals for employment, bears a direct relationship to job success

Validation studies prove the relatedness of the test to the job under study

Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures - Adverse Impact and Disparate Treatment

Adverse impact

Rejection of a significantly higher percentage of a protected class for employment, placement, or promotion when compared with the successful, nonprotected class

Ways to show existence of adverse impact

Adverse rejection rate or Four-fifths rule

Selection rate for any racial, ethnic, or sex class is less than four-fifths of the rate of the class with the highest selection rate

Conduct standard deviation analysis of firm’s applicant data

Restricted Policy, Disparate Treatment, and Workforce Utilization Analysis

Evidence that an employer has a selection procedure that excludes members of a protected class, whether intentional or not, constitutes adverse impact

Restricted policy

Situation in which protected class members receive unequal treatment or are evaluated by different standards

Involves instances of purposeful discrimination

Disparate treatment

Process of classifying protected-class members by number and by the type of job they hold within the organization

Workforce utilization analysis

Enforcing Equal Employment Opportunity Legislation

Factors used to accomplish the goals of EEOC

Issuing various employment guidelines and monitoring the employment practices of organizations

Protecting employee rights through the investigation and prosecution of discrimination charges

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Formulate EEO policy and approve litigations involved in maintaining equal employment opportunity

Encourage employees, who file a claim, to call on its toll-free number or fill out a questionnaire online

Commission then begins process of evaluation to determine weather the complaint is covered by the laws it enforces

Record-Keeping and Posting Requirements

Organizations subject to Title VII are required to maintain employment records and reports

Federal contractors and subcontractors have special EEO reporting requirements

Failing to comply incur penalties

Fines and imprisonment

Figure 3.5 - Filing a Charge of Employment Discrimination

Processing Discrimination Charges - Retaliation

Managers and supervisors cannot retaliate against individuals who invoke their legal rights to file charges or to support other employees during EEOC proceedings

Title VII states that an employer may not discriminate against his employees because employee has:

Opposed any unlawful employment practice

Made a charge, testified, assisted or participated in an investigation, proceedings, or hearings under this Act

Includes punitive action taken against employees who elect to exercise their legal rights before any EEO agency

Preventing Discrimination Charges

Done by having a comprehensive EEO policy

Requirements of an antidiscrimination policy statement

Must be inclusive

Cover all applicable laws and EEOC guidelines

Contain practical illustrations of specific inappropriate behavior

Preventing Discrimination Charges

Factors of comprehensive training program include:

Prohibitions covered in the various EEO statutes and executive orders

Guidance on how to respond to complaints of discrimination

Procedures for investigating complaints

Suggestions for remedying inappropriate behavior

Affirmative Action and Diversity Management

Affirmative action: Requires organizations to comply with the law and correct any past discriminatory practices by increasing the numbers of minorities and women in specific positions

Regulations for employers to establish action plans

Provide an organizational profile that graphically illustrates their workforce demographics

Establish goals and timetables for employment of underutilized protected classes

Develop actions and plans to reduce underutilization

Affirmative Action and Diversity Management

Monitor progress of the entire affirmative action program

Chief diversity officer (CDO): Top executive responsible for the implementation of a firm’s diversity efforts

Drawback of affirmative action program

Reverse discrimination: Act of giving preference to members of protected classes to the extent that unprotected individuals believe they are suffering discrimination

Court Decisions

Supreme Court ruled that:

Applicants must be evaluated on an individual basis

Race can be one factor used in evaluation process as long as other competitive factors are considered

Supreme court did not endorse all voluntary affirmative action programs

Encouraged programs that voluntarily implemented and designed to correct past racial or gender imbalances

Beyond Affirmative Action: Leveraging Diversity

Future of affirmative action rests in managers’ attitudes and voluntary actions to make workplace fairer and more competitive

Diverse workforce enables a company to keep up with changes

Steps toward leveraging people’s differences involve:

Seeing

Understanding

Valuing

Figure 3.6 - Steps to Leveraging Employee Differences