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mdiv_2013_ch2_powerpoint1_3.pptChapter Two
Why Value Diversity?
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Workplace Diversity Ch. 2
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Changes in the Workplace
- Twenty to thirty years ago there was a homogenous workplace comprised mainly of white married males who had common beliefs
- Today at least 85% of the new entrants to the workplace are people of color, women and immigrants
- Today almost half of the workplace are women who mainly provide 48% to 91% of their households income
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Equal Employment Opportunity Laws
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbids employers with 15 or more employees to discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion or national origin.
The law applies to federal, state and local employers. While not covered under Title VII, employers with less than 15 employees may be covered by state or local anti-discrimination statutes.
The act was later amended to include the disabled.
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What is the EEOC?
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will hear complaints from individuals who believe they have been the victims of discrimination.
Employers can be required by the EEOC to produce records or documentation pertaining to the charges. If the EEOC finds that discrimination has occurred, it will attempt to reconcile the parties and, if unsuccessful, may file a federal suit against the employer.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
- Prohibits employment discrimination because of race, color, sex, national origin, and religion. Prohibits retaliation for opposing discrimination, filing a complaint, or participating in a related proceeding.
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Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
- Prohibits employment discrimination because of age against persons age 40 and older. Prohibits retaliation for opposing age discrimination, filing a complaint, or participating in a related proceeding.
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- This law was amended by the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act which sets minimum criteria that must be satisfied before a waiver of any ADEA right is considered a "knowing and voluntary" waiver.
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Applying the Law
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will hear complaints from individuals who believe they have been the victims of discrimination.
Employers can be required by the EEOC to produce records or documentation pertaining to the charges. If the EEOC finds that discrimination has occurred, it will attempt to reconcile the parties and, if unsuccessful, may file a federal suit against the employer.
Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, Titles I and V
- Prohibits employment discrimination because of: mental and physical disabilities that substantially limit a major life activity; or having a record of a disability; or being regarded as having a disability.
- Requires reasonable accommodation of mental and physical disabilities.
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Equal Pay Act of 1963
- Prohibits wage differentials based on sex for jobs that require equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and are performed under similar working conditions in the same establishment ("equal pay for equal work").
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Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964: Race & Color
- prohibits discrimination on the basis of an immutable characteristic associated with race, such as skin color, hair texture, or certain facial features.
- Skin tone bias is not unique among people of color; whites also can equate darker skin with a "negative cultural stereotype."
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- Prohibits employment decisions based on stereotypes and assumptions about abilities, traits, or the performance of individuals of certain racial groups.
- Complaints of color discrimination go both ways, although more complaints are brought by individuals with darker skin than those with lighter skin.
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Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964: National Origin
- No one can be denied equal employment opportunity because of birthplace, ancestry, culture, or linguistic characteristics common to a specific ethnic group.
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- because of marriage or association with persons of a national origin group; membership or association with ethnic groups, attendance or participation in schools, churches, temples or mosques generally associated with a national origin group; or a surname associated with a national origin group.
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Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964: National Origin
Sex discrimination is discrimination based on gender, including:
- Sexual Harassment (quid pro quo and hostile environment) which applies to men and women
- Pregnancy Discrimination (differential treatment than any other temporary illness)
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Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964: Religious
- discriminating against individuals because of their religion in hiring, firing, and other terms and conditions of employment.
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- requires employers to reasonably accommodate the religious practices of an employee or prospective employee, unless to do so would create an undue hardship upon the employer.
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Titles I and V Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- An individual with a disability is a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, has a record of such an impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment.
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Major life activities are activities that an average person can perform with little or no difficulty such as walking, breathing, seeing, hearing, speaking, learning, and working.
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Qualified Individual with a Disability
A qualified employee or applicant with a disability is someone who satisfies skill, experience, education, and other job-related requirements of the position held or desired, and who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of that position.
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Reasonable Accommodations
may include, but is not limited to:
- making existing facilities used by employees readily accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities;
- job restructuring;
- modification of work schedules;
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- providing additional unpaid leave; reassignment to a vacant position;
- acquiring or modifying equipment or devices;
- adjusting or modifying examinations, training materials, or policies;
- and providing qualified readers or interpreters.
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Undue Hardship
- An employer is required to make a reasonable accommodation to a qualified individual with a disability unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the employer's business.
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- Undue hardship means an action that requires significant difficulty or expense when considered in relation to factors such as a business' size, financial resources, and the nature and structure of its operation.
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Prohibited Inquiries and Examinations
- Before making an offer of employment, an employer may not ask job applicants about the existence, nature, or severity of a disability.
- Applicants may be asked about their ability to perform job functions.
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- A job offer may be conditioned on the results of a medical examination, but only if the examination is required for all entering employees in the same job category.
- Medical examinations of employees must be job-related and consistent with business necessity.
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Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA)
The Equal Pay Act requires that men and women be given equal pay for equal work in the same establishment. The jobs need not be identical, but they must be substantially equal. It is job content, not job titles, that determines whether jobs are substantially equal.
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- Pay differentials are permitted when they are based on seniority, merit, quantity or quality of production, or a factor other than sex.
- These are known as "affirmative defenses" and it is the employer's burden to prove that they apply..
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- Furthermore, in correcting a pay differential, no employee's pay may be reduced. Instead, the pay of the lower paid employee(s) must be increased
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Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009
- January 29, 2009, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.
- The Act overturned the Supreme Court decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.
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Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009
- Prior to this act, workers were severely limited in their ability to vindicate their rights under federal anti-discrimination laws that prohibit pay discrimination.
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Paycheck Fairness Act
- Would allow prevailing plaintiffs to recover compensatory and punitive damages.
- The EPA currently provides only for liquidated damages and back pay awards, which tend to be insubstantial.
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- Prohibits employers from punishing employees for sharing salary information with their coworkers as it stands employers can prevent employees from sharing wage/salary information. This change would greatly enhance employees’ ability to learn about wage disparities.
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- Eliminates an employer’s loophole where under the EPA, an employer is paying female employees less than male employees for equal work, the employer can say pay differential due to some other than sex.
- introduced twice in 2010 and 2012 and has failed twice.
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Sexual Orientation Discrimination
- Neither the civil rights act nor the federal EEO law provides protection on the basis of sexual orientation.
- However, Executive Order 11478, as amended; Department Administration Order 215-11; and the Department’s non-discrimination policy prohibit such discrimination.
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Conclusion
Due to the costs of devaluing diversity and the laws surrounding equal opportunity it becomes increasingly apparent that focusing on diversity and looking for more ways to make full use of the contributions of all employees is necessary for today’s competitive workplace.
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