Health Field Human Resource Management

HCA 5306, Health Field Human Resource Management 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit III Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

3. Discuss how diversity, inclusion, and culture affect employee productivity within health care settings. 3.1 Describe sex and gender discrimination laws and regulations. 3.2 Explain religion and spirituality in the workplace.

6. Explain the legal implications of employee labor relations in the health care setting.

6.1 Identify sources of legal regulation and enforcement. 6.2 Explain equal employment opportunity concepts. 6.3 Outline elements of equal employment opportunity compliance.

Required Unit Resources Chapter 4: Legal Issues Affecting the Healthcare Workplace Unit Lesson The primary responsibility—and sometimes- called a necessary evil for the human resource (HR) professional—is in the assistance with legal issues and compliance for the employer. Risk management becomes a major part of the HR professional's job where litigation avoidance and helping to ensure that employee rights are not violated becomes an important focus of that job. However, employment laws in the United States are very complex and pose a myriad of challenges for HR as this legal frontier moves from the federal level to the state, county, and city levels. For example, the city of Charleston, South Carolina, voted in 2017 to require all employers to refrain from asking applicants their previous job compensation history. Several states have approved higher minimum wage, with increases each year and an annual adjustment. Another legal frontier HR managers face is marijuana liberalization laws for medical and recreational use throughout the country. Massachusetts and other states enacted several new employment laws or expanded on existing ones. The biggest challenge for HR professionals is for those working for statewide companies and trying to keep up with the numerous changes to local and state law (Schuman et al., 2016). Labor and employment laws have gained increased attention during the last few years, and this trend will continue for the near future. Many city and county governments across the United States have passed legislation providing guidelines for flexible scheduling in the workplace. Flexible schedule requires some places of employment to notify employees about their work schedules. In some instances, it goes even further requiring additional pay for employees when changes to the schedule are made or stipulating additional hours must be offered to part-time employees (Schuman et al., 2016). How do all these federal, state, county, and city employment laws affect the HR profession? A good example is to consider the requirements for hiring a person who has a disability. These requirements are grounded in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that was amended in 2008 to the Americans with Disabilities Act Amended Acts (ADAAA). The ADAAA better defined a disability and covered almost every human medical issue except illegal drug use. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was then charged with the responsibility of enforcement of the ADA. Other federal agencies such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and were asked to provide oversight and influence on how organizations manage their work environments. In the area of health care, there are several employment law issues that will affect the human resources function in particular. The NLRB has proposed changes to its union election rules and the approval of micro-

UNIT III STUDY GUIDE Legal Issues Affecting the Health Care Workplace

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bargaining units that will increase health care facilities' risk of union organizing (McGahan, Stanberry, & Green, 2014). Another issue on the horizon for health care providers is physicians being classified as employees. As health care systems continue to consolidate and acquire medical practices and physician groups, more and more physicians will become employees (McGahan et al., 2014). This kind of development in the health care workplace may cause new human resources challenges because as employees, physicians will be subject to the same workplace policies and protections as other employees. As physicians become employees of health care systems, they secure rights under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) as well and are able to join some union activities (NLRA, 1935). Among these protected rights is the right to form or join labor unions and to act collectively, even in a non-union environment (McGahan et al., 2014). Federal, state, county, and city governments have enacted a wide range of employment laws and regulations protecting employees from discriminatory treatment, unsafe work conditions, and unfair labor practices. The HR professional’s challenge is to maintain a high level of understanding of these laws to reduce risk to the organization. The Internet has opened up the world to many organizations. No longer does the organization have to be physically located in a particular area. Business can be conducted throughout the world via the Internet; however, with these exciting opportunities, come challenges related to doing business globally even for health care organizations. National and sub-national human resources management relate to the policies and practices of managing people in a culturally different organization. While there may be similarities in management of employees, there may be many unique aspects to managing people resources in an organization that operates with many different sub-cultures and virtual processes. Think about the many differences that could be experienced! Just because something is different does not mean it is wrong. It is just different. This is often an aspect that is missed when considering cultural interactions. One of these issues is diversity and inclusion. This may seem like a play on words, but it is not. Diversity today, especially in the health care workplace, is being redefined. Becoming more inclusive is not just a matter of adding new categories to a growing list of different identity groups such as race, religion, gender, culture, and others. Inclusion defines a change in how the whole concept of diversity is considered. Health care organizations are beginning to embrace diversity and inclusion as more than a matter of legal or ethical compliance but as a strategic initiative. It is becoming a valuable asset that an organization can use to compete. So, what does diversity bring to the table? It expands the range of perspectives and modes of thinking. This can create greater innovation and creativity and affect the bottom line. What is diversity versus inclusion? When organizations say, “We have a diverse workforce,” they are talking about who they bring into the organization. Inclusion is about how we make employees feel welcome when they arrive. Diversity in an organization is about assimilation rather than inclusion. If employees feel they are not welcome, they will adjust their appearance, refuse to discuss affiliations, and feel unconformable sharing advocates and associations. Most organizations today focus on the visible diversity traits such as culture, race, gender, age, and language. What is more difficult to recognize are the invisible traits that include those attributes that are not readily seen, such as a diversity of thought, perspectives, and life experiences that may include education, family status, values and beliefs, working-style preferences, and socioeconomic status. Diversity and inclusion represent a process where employee insights can offer tremendous value as members of a particular identity group. To make this process sustainable, the organization must develop a clear understanding of how to build and nurture diversity by providing voluntary training, self-managed teams, virtual team training, diversity task forces, as well diversity processes that take responsibility and accountability for an effective transition.

References

McGahan, M. F., Stanberry D. M., & Green, D. J. (2014, July). Five labor and employment issues faced by

health care employers. Take 5. http://www.ebglaw.com/social-media-and-the-workplace/news/five- labor-and-employment-issues-faced-by-health-care-employers/

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National Labor Relations Act of 1935, 29 U.S.C. §§ 151-169. https://www.nlrb.gov/resources/national-labor- relations-act

Schuman, I., Lotito, M. J., & Chilco, S. (2016). 2017 labor & employment laws: New year, new government,

new challenges. https://www.littler.com/publication-press/publication/2017-labor-employment-laws- new-year-new-government-new-challenges