Unit III Discussion Board

DBA 7553, Human Resource Management 1

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

2. Analyze equal opportunity and the legal environment. 2.1 Explain the role that human resources has in upholding the legal responsibilities of an

organization. 2.2 Differentiate between the management of diversity and affirmative action.

3. Examine the elements of diversity in organizations.

3.1 Articulate the challenges that may occur when managing a diverse work group. 3.2 Research how the management of diversity can be improved.

Course/Unit Learning Outcomes

Learning Activity

2.1

Unit Lesson Chapter 3 Unit III Annotated Bibliography

2.2

Unit Lesson Chapter 3 Unit III Annotated Bibliography

3.1 Chapter 4 Unit III Annotated Bibliography

3.2 Chapter 4 Unit III Annotated Bibliography

Reading Assignment Chapter 3: Understanding Equal Opportunity and the Legal Environment Chapter 4: Managing Diversity

Unit Lesson Today there are myriad legal issues with which human resource management must be involved. There is an ever-changing landscape with regard to workplace legislation, and skillful strategic human resource management must stay ahead of the curve. Being a member of a human resource professional society can help with this. The Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) is one of the leading professional societies covering human resource management. SHRM is a global human resources professional society. It has vast resources to help today’s human resource management professionals stay on top of new laws as well as upcoming legislation. Having that advanced knowledge of what the legal landscape looks like on the horizon for today’s workplace makes for strong strategic human resource management. This all helps to keep the organization compliant and focused on the right direction moving forward. Operational strategic human resource management includes not only understanding the current (and future) legal environment, but also the ability to implement strong policies, keep exemplary records and written documentation, and provide effective training for managers and employees. One area of importance is the issue of fair employment, which includes being aware of and having proper policies and enforcement of these policies in place for civil rights. There must be a constant focus on

UNIT III STUDY GUIDE

Equal Opportunity and the Legal Environment, and Elements of Diversity in Organizations, Part I

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preventing illegal discrimination in today’s workplace. To this end, the strategy of affirmative action seeks to attain the goal of enacting fair employment. Affirmative action and equal opportunity have a focus on equity and diversity in the workplace. There continues to be various court cases involving affirmative action, so strategic human resource management must stay on top of the latest information in this area. Again, another way of doing so is to tap into a professional society, such as SHRM. Such human resource professional societies offer useful and up-to-date legislative information so that human resources professionals can keep their organizations on this right track legally. Over the decades, a plethora of equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws have gone into effect. The legal landscape in this regard is continuously evolving. Some of the landmark EEO laws include the Equal Pay Act of 1963 that required that men and women be paid the same for doing the same job. When it was passed, the average female employee earned about 59 cents on the dollar that the average male employee with the same job earned (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, & Cardy, 2016). Today, there is still a lag and differential that various legislation over the years has tried to address. It is a continuing process. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is another landmark item. Title VII prohibits employment decisions from being based on a person’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Title VII also addressed things like disparate treatment and adverse impact. Disparate treatment is when an employer treats an employee from a protected class differently. Adverse impact is when a workplace standard is applied to all employees but has a more negative impact on those in a protected class. It may not be intentional that this happens, but organizations must be aware of when it does occur and work to remediate the issue. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) is another example of landmark equal opportunity legislation. There are now three sections of this law. Title I addresses provisions with regard to employment. Titles II and III address issues with regard to state and local government, as well as places of public accommodation, which could include restaurants, hotels, and shopping malls. Title I would be the focus of strategic human resource professionals with regard to the workplace. It states that employers are prohibited from discriminating against people with disabilities who have the ability to perform what are called essential functions of a job, with or without needing reasonable accommodations. An example of a reasonable accommodation would be if an employee who uses a wheelchair would need an access ramp to the office building. It is reasonable to request this accommodation, and it would impose a small cost and not an unreasonable one on the employer. This would go hand-in-hand with our discussion in the previous unit regarding work-flow and job analysis. In such a process, essential functions of a job would be identified. The employer may provide reasonable accommodations if the cost is not an undue hardship for the company. The documentation on such reasonable specific accommodations requests and decisions must be clearly defined whether the accommodation is granted. Such documentation could possibly be the basis for any subsequent legal action. Therefore, knowledgeable strategic human resource management is prepared to handle this important legal documentation issue. Two federal regulatory agencies are responsible for equal employment opportunity law enforcement issues. They are the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). Title VII created the EEOC, and it has three lead functions: (1) it processes complaints about discrimination, (2) it issues various written regulations, and (3) it conducts information gathering and disseminates such information as needed.

For instance, for companies with more than 100 employees, an annual report called an EEO-1 must be filed detailing the number of women and minorities in jobs that fall into nine separate categories (EEOC, n.d.). These categories are (1) officials and managers, (2) professionals, (3) technicians, (4) sales, (5) office and clerical, (6) craft workers (skilled), (7) operatives (semiskilled), (8) laborers (unskilled), and (9) service

Processes Discrimination

Complaints

Issues Various Written Regulations

Collects and Disseminates Information

The three functions of the EEOC

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workers. Additionally, the EEOC is responsible for sending employers EEO law posters that must be displayed prominently for all employees to access. The OFCCP has a responsibility regarding the laws and executive orders focusing on the federal government and contractors to the federal government. One additional area that the OFCCP covers has to do with requiring affirmative action programs from its covered employers. Most of the OFCCP’s focus is similar to the EEOC’s; however, the OFCCP proactively monitors employers for compliance with regulations. Additionally, it has broader enforcement powers than the EEOC. Government offices and government contractors must adhere to strict guidelines and be ready to be actively monitored. Therefore, it is imperative that strategic human resource management be up-to-date on all equal opportunity and general employment legal issues. One of the best ways to keep management, employees, as well as human resource management current is to develop appropriate training for staff. Clear and consistent communication in this area is critical. Other important areas to consider avoiding pitfalls with regard to equal employment opportunity include establishing useful training, developing a complaint resolution process, documenting decisions in a clear manner, and only asking for information that the company needs to know. It is important that a company provides useful and current training to executives and managers with regard to equal employment opportunity and associated labor laws. Additionally, companies should provide continuous communication to their employees regarding the company’s continued commitment to a workplace free of discrimination. There should be clear instructions regarding the process the company has in place for reporting discrimination. The area of complaint resolution is another important dimension. Companies must have a clear process for how equal employment opportunity complaints will be handled. Additionally, any time there is a discrimination claim, companies must keep well-documented records on the matter. This is always important if the discrimination claim should proceed to either the EEOC or the OFCCP. Ultimately, it is important that human resources and the company only focus on the information needed for the subject discrimination claim. Going into areas that are not aligned with the issue could possibly lead to other unintended consequences, perhaps with an ADA violation based on questions about an employee’s health that are not strictly related to the discrimination claim. Balancing the need to investigate with what is legally permissible is a vital dimension in equal employment opportunity issues.

References Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. (1990). Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. (1964). Equal Pay Act of 1963, 29 U.S.C. § 206(d) (1963). Gomez-Mejia, L. R., Balkin, D. B., & Cardy, R. L. (2016). Managing human resources (8th ed.). Boston, MA:

Pearson. U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (n.d.). EEO-1: Who must file. Retrieved from

https://www.eeoc.gov/employers/eeo1survey/whomustfile.cfm