Equal Employment Opportunity

1
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management Ninth
Edition DeCenzo and Robbins
Chapter 3 Equal Employment Opportunity
2
Introduction

• Government legislation affects all HRM functions
• State and municipal laws impact HRM, as well as
  the Federal laws

3
Laws Affecting Discriminatory Practices

• Legislation prohibiting discrimination on the
  basis of race, sex, and national origin before
  the 1964 Civil Rights Act
• Civil Rights Act of 1866
• Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution

4
Laws Affecting Discriminatory Practices
5
Civil Rights Act of 1964

• Title VII prohibits discrimination in
• hiring
• compensation
• terms, conditions or privileges of employment
• based on
• race
• religion
• color
• sex
• national origin
• Applies to any organization with 15 or more
  employees.

6
Civil Rights Act of 1964

• Griggs v. Duke Power Company (1971)
• demonstrated that selection criteria must be
  directly relevant to the job.
• Equal Employment Opportunity Act (EEOA)
• Granted enforcement powers to the EEOC
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
• The arm of the federal government empowered to
  handle discrimination in employment cases

7
Civil Rights Act of 1964

• Affirmative Action
• Reflect the 1972 premise that white males made up
  the majority of workers
• Companies in the 70s were still growing and
  could accommodate more workers
• Minorities should be hired to correct past
  prejudice
• Legal and social coercion were necessary to bring
  about change
• Involves
• analyzing current work force demographics
• establishing goals and timetables for correcting
  imbalances

8
Civil Rights Act of 1964

• Controversy and criticism of preferences in
  employment for protected groups is causing
  legislative bodies to take a second look at
  Affirmative Action.
• Adverse (disparate) impact
• occurs when there is a greater rejection rate in
  an occupation for a protected group (those
  protected under discrimination laws) than for the
  majority group.
• Adverse (disparate) treatment
• occurs when members of a protected group are
  treated differently than other employees.

9
Laws Affecting Discriminatory Practices

• Executive Order (E.O.) 11246
• Prohibits discrimination on the basis of
  religion, color, and national origin
• Affects
• Federal agencies
• Those working under federal contracts
• Executive Order (E.O.) 11375
• Added sex-based discrimination

10
Laws Affecting Discriminatory Practices

• Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
• protects those 40 and older
• eliminates mandatory retirement and the arbitrary
  replacement of older workers with younger workers
• provides for oversight in pension and benefit
  issues

11
Laws Affecting Discriminatory Practices

• Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978
• Employment decisions may not be based on an
  individuals pregnancy
• Must treat pregnancy as any other short-term
  disability
• Supplemented by various state laws

12
Laws Affecting Discriminatory Practices

• The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)
• Extends protection of Vocational Rehabilitation
  Act to most forms of disability status (including
  AIDS and other contagious diseases).
• Requires companies to make reasonable
  accommodations for qualified applicants and
  employees.
• Covers private companies and all public service
  organizations.

13
Laws Affecting Discriminatory Practices

• The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993
• Employees in organizations employing 50 or more
  workers can take up to 12 weeks unpaid leave each
  year for
• Childbirth
• Adoption
• Own illness or illness of a family member
• Employees must meet eligibility requirements to
  be covered.
• Employers must meet certain communication
  requirements under the Act.

14
Laws Affecting Discriminatory Practices

• Executive Order 11478
• Amends E.O. 11246
• Practices in the federal government must be based
  on merit
• Prohibits discrimination based on
• Political affiliation
• Marital status
• Physical handicap

15
Laws Affecting Discriminatory Practices

• Civil Rights Act of 1991
• Passed after Supreme Court decisions diminished
  effect of Griggs decision.
• Prohibits racial harassment
• Returns burden of proof to employer
• Reinforces illegality of making hiring, firing or
  promotion decisions on basis of race, ethnicity,
  sex or religion
• Permits women and religious minorities to seek
  punitive damages in intentional discriminatory
  claims
• Included the Glass Ceiling Act

16
Guarding Against Discrimination Practices

• Determining Potential Discriminatory Practices
• The 4/5ths Rule
• Restricted Policy
• Geographical Comparisons
• McDonnell-Douglas Test

17
Guarding Against Discrimination Practices

• The 4/5ths Rule
• Guideline established by EEOC Uniform Guidelines
  on Employee Selection Procedures.
• Compares selection ratio for minority applicants
  to that for majority applicants
• If less than 4/5ths (80), discrimination may
  have occurred.
• Applies to all steps in a selection process.

18
Guarding Against Discrimination Practices

• Restricted Policy
• infractions occur when HRM activities result in
  exclusion of a class of individuals
• E.g., laying off employees over age 40 while
  recruiting younger workers

19
Guarding Against Discrimination Practices

• Geographical Comparisons
• Characteristics of the qualified pool of
  potential applicants
• are compared to
• characteristics of employees

20
Guarding Against Discrimination Practices

• McDonnell-Douglas Test
• Individual is member of a protected group.
• Individual is qualified for job.
• Individual is rejected.
• Organization continues to seek other applicants
  with similar qualifications.

21
Responding to an EEO Charge

• Employers should discontinue practices which
  cannot be defended.
• Practice reinstated only after
• Careful study
• Practice is modified, if necessary
• Three defenses
• Business necessity
• Bona Fide occupations qualifications
• Seniority System

22
Responding to an EEO Charge

• Business Necessity
• the right to expect employees to perform
  successfully
• shown by demonstrating that selection criteria
  are job-related

23
Responding to an EEO Charge

• Bona Fide Occupational Qualifications
• Can be use when job requirements are Reasonably
  necessary to meet the normal operation of that
  business or enterprise
• Title VII exceptions
• Sex
• Age
• Religion

24
Responding to an EEO Charge

• Seniority Systems
• Decisions that adversely affect protected group
  members may be permissible if
• Based on well-established and consistently
  applied seniority systems

25
Selected Relevant Supreme Court Cases

• Cases Concerning Discrimination
• Cases Concerning Reverse Discrimination

26
Selected Relevant Supreme Court Cases

• Cases concerning discrimination
• Griggs v. Duke Power (1971) Tests were illegal
  when they resulted in adverse impact and were not
  job related.
• Albemarle Paper Company v. Moody (1975)
  Clarified methods for using and validating tests
  in selection
• Wards Cove Packing Company v. Atonio (1989)
  Statistics alone could not support evidence of
  discrimination burden of proof shifted to the
  plaintiff.

27
Selected Relevant Supreme Court Cases

• Cases concerning reverse discrimination
• Bakke v. the Regents of the University of
  California at Davis Medical School (1978)
  School could not set aside seats for minorities.
• United Steelworkers of America v. Weber (1979)
  Court supported companys voluntary affirmative
  action training program for minorities.

28
Selected Relevant Supreme Court Cases

• Firefighter Local 1784 v. Stotts (1984) Wyant
  v. Jackson Board of Education (1986)
• Affirmative action may not take precedence over a
  seniority system
• Collective bargaining agreement giving
  preferential treatment to minorities in layoffs
  was illegal.
• Johnson v. Santa Clara County Transportation
  (1987)
• Preferential treatment based on AA goals
  permitted if non-minorities protected.

29
Enforcing Equal Employment Opportunity

• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
• Jurisdiction for Title VII and other legislation
  that covers charges of discrimination based on
  race, color, sex, national origin, age or
  disability.
• Five Step Process to Pursue Charges

30
Enforcing Equal Employment Opportunity

• EEOC notifies company within 10 days of filing
  and begins investigation
• EEOC notifies company of findings within 120 days
• If unfounded, process stops
• If founded, EEOC tries to resolve
• If unsuccessful, EEOC begins mediation
  (settlement meeting)
• If unsuccessful, EEOC may file charges in court

31
Enforcing Equal Employment Opportunity

• Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
  (OFCCP)
• Enforces
• Executive Order 11246
• Section 503 of Vocational Rehabilitation Act
• Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Act of 1974.
• Operates within U.S. Dept. of Labor.
• Investigates discrimination complaints process
  similar to that of EEOC.
• Can cancel employers contract with federal
  government
• Applies to any organization with a federal
  contract or acts as a subcontractor.

32
HRM in a Global Environment

• Laws affecting Human Resource Management vary
  greatly by country.
• Canadian laws closely parallel those in the U.S.
• In Mexico, employees more likely to be unionized.
• Australias discrimination laws not enacted until
  the 1980s

33
Current Issues in Employment Law

• What is Sexual Harassment?
• Unwanted activity of a sexual nature that affects
  an individuals employment
• Prohibited under Title VII as sex discrimination
• Sexual harassment can occur where verbal or
  physical conduct toward an individual
• (1) creates an intimidating, offensive, or
  hostile environment
• (2) unreasonably interferes with an individuals
  work
• (3) adversely affects employees employment
  opportunities.

34
Current Issues in Employment Law

• Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson Supreme Court
  case supported hostile environment claims
  identified employer liability.
• Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc. Supreme Court
  case victims dont have to suffer substantial
  mental distress.
• 1998 Supreme Court ruling indicated that
  harassment can take place even if the employee
  does not experience any negative job
  repercussions.

35
Current Issues in Employment Law

• Are Women Reaching the Top of Organizations?
• Comparable worth - determining fair pay for both
  female-oriented jobs and male-oriented jobs based
  on comparable skill, effort, and responsibility.
• Glass ceiling - lack of women and minority
  representation at the top levels of
  organizations.
• OFCCP has glass ceiling initiative.
• Promotes career development
• for women and minorities.
• Looks for such in its audits.