1
Chapter
3
The Legal Environment: Equal
Employment Opportunity and
Safety
After reading this chapter, you should be able to:
Identify the three branches of government and the role each plays in
influencing the legal environment of human resource management.
List the major federal laws that require equal employment opportunity
and the protections provided by each of these laws.
Discuss the roles, responsibilities, and requirements of the federal
agencies responsible for enforcing equal employment opportunity laws.
Identify the four theories of discrimination under Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act and apply these theories to different discrimination situations.
Chapter
3
The Legal Environment: Equal
Employment Opportunity and
Safety
Identify
behavior that constitutes sexual harassment and list
things that an organization can do to eliminate or minimize it.
Discuss the legal issues involved with preferential treatment
programs.
Identify the major provisions of the Occupational Safety and
Health Act (1970) and the rights of employees that are
guaranteed by this act.
The Legal System in the United
States
Legislative Branch
Judicial Branch
Executive Branch
Three
Branches
The Legal System in the United
States
 The
legislative branch of the federal government consists of
the House of Representatives and the Senate. These bodies
enact laws that govern many HR activities.
 The executive branch consists of the president of the United
States and the regulatory agencies the president oversees.
 The judicial branch consists of the federal court system,
which is made up of three levels.
 U.S.
district courts and quasi-judicial administrative agencies.
 The U.S. Court of Appeals
 The Supreme Court
Equal Employment Opportunity
Equal
employment opportunity
refers to the government's attempt to
ensure that all individuals have an
equal chance for employment,
regardless of race, color, religion, sex,
or national origin.
Constitutional Amendments:
 13th Amendment
- abolished slavery
 14th Amendment - forbids states from
denying equal protection of the laws
Congressional Legislation
 The
Reconstruction Civil Rights Acts (1866 and 1871)
 These
acts were attempts to further the goal of eradicating
slavery.
 Patterson v. McClean Credit Union
 Equal
Pay Act of 1963 - requires that men and women in
the same organization who are doing equal work must be
paid equally.
 Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 - makes it illegal
for an employer to "fail or refuse to hire or discharge any
individual because of the individual's race, color, religion,
sex, or national origin.
Congressional Legislation
The Age
Discrimination in Employment Act of
1967 - prohibits discrimination against employees
over the age of 40.
Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973 - covers
federal contractors and requires them to engage in
affirmative action for disabled individuals.
Vietnam Era Veteran’s Readjustment Act of
1974 - requires federal contractors to take
affirmative action toward employing Vietnam
veterans.
Congressional Legislation
Civil
Rights Act of 1991 - allows compensatory
and punitive damages when discrimination has
been intentional or reckless.
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
 Protects
individuals with disabilities from being
discriminated against in the workplace by prohibiting
discrimination in all employment practices.
 Requires that "reasonable accommodations" be made as
long as they do not present an "undue burden" upon the
employer.
Executive Orders
Executive Order 11246 affirmative action targets for
women and minorities
Executive Order 11478 government employment policies
based on merit and fitness
Enforcement of Equal Employment
Opportunity
Two agencies responsible for the enforcement of
these laws and executive orders:
Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission
Office of Federal Contract
Compliance Programs
Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission
Three
major responsibilities:
Investigating
and resolving
discrimination complaints
Gathering information
Issuing guidelines
Office of Federal Contract
Compliance Programs
 Three
components:
 The
utilization analysis compares the race, sex, and ethnic
composition of the employer's work force with that of the
available labor supply.
 The employer must develop specific goals and timetables for
achieving balance in the workforce. They specify the
percentage of women and minorities that an employer seeks,
and the date by which that percentage is to be attained.
 Employers must develop a list of action steps, which are the
written affirmative plan that specifies what an employer plans
to do to reduce underutilization of protected groups.
 The
OFCCP annually audits government contractors.
Types of Discrimination
- Show intent?
Disparate
Treatment
- yes
Disparate
Impact
- no
Reasonable
Accomodation
- yes
- Prima facie
case
- member of
protected group
- statistical disparity
- failure to be
accomodated
- Employer’s
defense
- show BFOQ
- show job
relatedness
- job relatedness and
business necessity
- Plaintiff’s
rebuttal
- reason a pretext
- other ways exist
- Damages
- compensatory/
- equitable relief
punitive
- McDonnell Douglas - Griggs v. Duke
v. Green
Power
Hopkins v. Price
Wards Cove v.
Waterhouse
Atonio
- Key litigation
- compensatory/
punitive
- Walmart
Disparate Treatment
Disparate
treatment exists when
individuals in similar situations are
treated differently based upon race,
color, religion, sex, national origin,
age, or disability status.
 Bona
fide occupational qualifications
(BFOQ) - A characteristic that is
necessary, rather than preferred, for a
job.
 McDonnell Douglas Corp v. Green
Disparate Impact
Disparate
impact occurs when a facially neutral
employment practice disproportionately excludes a
protected group from employment opportunities.
 Four-fifths
rule - a test has disparate impact if the hiring
rate for the minority group is less than four-fifths (80
percent) of the hiring rate for the majority group.
 Standard deviation rule - uses actual probability
distributions to determine adverse impact.
 Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Antonio
 Griggs v. Duke Power
Reasonable Accommodation
Reasonable Accommodation
- places a special
obligation on an employer to affirmatively do
something to accommodate an individual’s
disability or religion.
 Religion
and Accommodation - Individuals who hold strong
religious beliefs find that some of the observations and
practices of their religion come into contact with work duties.
 Disability and Accommodation - Employers are not only to
refrain from discrimination (ADA) but they are also obligated
to take affirmative steps to accommodate individuals who are
protected under the act.
Retaliation for Participation and
Opposition
Title
VII states that employers cannot retaliate against
employees for either "opposing" a perceived illegal
employment practice or "participating in a
proceeding,” related to an alleged illegal employment
practice.
However, employees do not have an unlimited right to
talk about how racist or sexist their employers are.
 The
courts tend to frown on employees whose activities
result in a poor public image for the company unless
those employees attempted to use the organization’s
internal channels.
Current Issues Regarding Diversity
and Equal Employment Opportunity
Issues regarding diversity are increasingly important.
Sexual Harassment
Affirmative Action and
Reverse Discrimination
Outcomes of Americans
with Disabilities Act
Sexual Harassment
Sexual
harassment refers to unwanted sexual
advances.
 Quid
pro quo harassment occurs when some type of
benefit or punishment is made contingent upon the
employee submitting to sexual advances.
 Bundy v. Jackson
 A hostile working environment occurs when someone's
behavior in the workplace creates an environment that
makes it difficult for someone of a particular sex to
work.
 Ron Clark Ford of Amarillo, TX, and Babies ‘R’ Us
Sexual Harassment
Three
critical conditions for Sexual Harassment
cases:
 The
plaintiff cannot have "invited or incited" the advances
 Harassment must have been severe
 The court must determine the liability of the organization for
actions of its employees
Preventative
steps for firms include development
of a policy statement, training in inappropriate
behaviors, development of a reporting mechanism,
and disciplinary policy.
Affirmative Action and Reverse
Discrimination
Affirmative Action
was conceived of as a
way of taking extra effort to attract and
retain minority employees.
Imposed quota programs are negotiated with
the EEOC and hold a certain number of
positions for minorities or women.
The entire debate over affirmative action
continues to invoke attention. Many people
consider quotas or preferential treatment as
reverse discrimination.
Outcomes of the Americans with
Disabilities Act
 Under ADA,
a firm must make "reasonable
accommodation" to a physically or mentally disabled
individual unless doing so would impose "undue hardship.”
 Consequences of this act:
 There
has been increased litigation
 The kinds of cases being filed do not reflect Congressional
intent
 The act was passed to protect people with major disabilities,
however, major disabilities account for less than 4 percent of
claims.
 The law has not resulted in a major increase in the proportion
of people with disabilities who are working.
Employee Safety
Employee
safety is regulated by both the federal
and state governments.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act
(OSHA) authorizes the federal government to
establish and enforce occupational safety and
health standards for all places of employment
engaging in interstate commerce.
 The
General duty clause of OSHA states that an employer
has an overall obligation to furnish employees with a place of
employment from recognized hazards.
Employee Rights Under OSHA
Employees have a right to:
1. Request an inspection.
2. Have a representative present at
an inspection.
3. Have dangerous substances identified.
4. By promptly informed about exposure
to hazards and be given access to
accurate records regarding exposures.
5. Have employer violations
posted at the work-site.
OSHA Inspections, Citations, and
Penalties
 OSHA inspections
are conducted by
specially trained agents of the Department
of Labor called compliance officers.
 If a compliance officers believe that a
violation has occurred, they issue a citation
to the employer specifying the practice or
situation that violates the act.
 Criminal and civil penalties may be
assessed for willful violations that kill an
employee.
Safety Awareness Programs
 Safety
awareness programs attempt to instill symbolic and
substantive changes to a safety program.
 There are three primary components of a safety awareness
program:
 Identifying
and Communicating Job Hazards
The job hazard analysis technique breaks jobs down into basic
elements that are then rated for their potential for harm.
 Technic of Operations Review (TOR) focuses on past accidents
and their causes.

 Reinforcing
Safe Practices
 Promoting Safety Internationally