Research Paper
Appendix
Human Resources are considered one of the most crucial assets in business world in this time
and age. It is one of the most important aspects of any organization, whether it be non-profit, not
for profit, or profit. There are a lot of legal issues that a company can face without a good HR
team. This paper highlights various issues such as discrimination occurring at workplace,
harassment existing at workplaces, pay equality that should be in a firm, benefits or fringe
benefits in an organization that employees get on monthly or yearly bases, avoiding lawsuits
against your company and crucial HR legal compliances. These trends are vital for every firm to
know and understand to avoid any harm to their employees or the firm itself. This paper sheds
light to issues that will directly impact the firm and its reputation in various ways.
Workplace Discrimination
Discrimination is an issue that has been quite common in various parts of the world, and it is
referred to as when an employee is treated less favorably than other employees working in an
organization because of any personal attribute of your rather than the ability that you have to do
the job. It is considered unlawful to discriminate anyone on their personal attributes such as;
Race, Color, Sex, Age, Any illness (mental or physical), Religion, Marital status, Political
opinion etc.
It is quite an obvious fact that everyone has the right to work in an environment that is free of
any sort of discrimination, harassment or bullying etc. Discriminating someone based on their
religion, race, color, creed, marital status or gender etc. tends to violate an individual’s right to
be treated with respect, fairness and dignity. Discrimination not only does damage one’s mental
health but also creates disputes among the other employees working in the organization
damaging the image of the firm as well as the other employees. It has a direct impact on the
employees’ wellbeing, job performance and job security and it can be destructive to a company
as well by the negative work place that comes as a result. It can expose an employer business to
direct liability where the business engaged in the discrimination or vicarious liability for the
discrimination engaged in by one of the employee’s working in the firm where the employer
cannot show that they (the employer) took reasonable steps to prevent that discrimination from
existing.
Anyone can be a victim of workplace discrimination and can face serious consequences of it but
a common example of it can be seen in foreign countries such The US where black people are
discriminated in workplaces because of their color. They don’t get fare share or don’t get an
equal opportunity of working with the whites which results in serious damage to the black
community. Other example can be of women being discriminated at work places because of their
gender. They do not get equal chances of getting hired at jobs and even if they do they either get
lesser wages than men or get constant harassment by either their employees or boss.
As discussed above, discrimination can have serious damages to an individual whether men or
women and should be eliminated not only from work places but from the everyday lives. No one
deserves to be treated lesser to one another and everyone deserves a chance to opportunities. We
all should aim to put discrimination at an end and protect your rights both an employee and an
individual.
Harassment at the Workplace
Workplace harassment has been a heated issue in many organizations and has adversely affected
many work cultures in many different ways. It exists in various business places and in different
parts of the world. Just like workplace discrimination and workplace bullying, harassment at
workplace has been existing in business places and has cost the businesses in many ways.
Workplace harassment can involve various things such as catcalling men/women, whistling at co
employees or workers, passing negative comments, sexually touching any male/female, having
to call out in dark places and at weird times and etc. Nowadays, it has increasingly reached up to
serious levels where employees feel their lives at risk due to the harassment they face at
workplaces. Sexual harassment is a form of unlawful employment discrimination under Title VII
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
In so many of its disadvantages the firms have to face, some are as follows; firstly, the
organization which has any such culture where harassment is easy to take place and other co
workers are being harassed, employees prefer leaving the workplace and shifting to another firm,
which in return costs the firm its good employees. Secondly, an environment containing any
sorts of harassment causes the firm to loose on to their reputation which the company might have
taken ages to build. Thirdly, if any other organization hears any such stories of harassment about
your firm; they tend to make sure to not be partners with your firm at any cost so that they do not
loose their name too. Other than that, you eventually might loose customers who would stop
buying your product after hearing or experiencing any kinds of harassment. While we know, the
most basic types of harassment include the verbal and psychological, there can exist also other
serious forms such as physical or sexual harassment. All kinds of workplace harassment are
illegal and not only do they affect an employee’s comfort, happiness, productivity and safety at
work place but also put the organization in to legal jeopardy. Despite the fact that many victims
of workplace harassment think that they would easily recognize harassment and report it to those
who are in charge of all the harassment issues but the damage starts when harassment often
leaves the victim in an uncomfortable and confusing predicament. Chris Chancey, who is the
founder of Amplio Recruiting, claimed that many victims of workplace harassment do not report
it because of fear, and others are unsure of what conduct constitutes harassment and what not.
"Some behaviors, albeit making someone uncomfortable, can seem so harmless – there are no
physical signs of abuse – that few people want to report them for fear of being seen as petty or as
a snitch," Chancey told Business News Daily.
Harassment also occurs in a variety of circumstances that can be a follows:

The alleged harasser could be the victim's supervisor, a supervisor in another area or an
agent of the employer or may be a co-worker or a nonemployee.

The victim does not have to be the person harassed, but could be anyone affected by the
offensive conduct.

Unlawful harassment might occur without economic injury to or discharge of the victim.
To put an end to workplace harassment, there should be various steps that can be taken such as;

Workshops for employees on weekly or monthly basis

Training of employees

Policies regarding harassment at workplaces

An open environment for employees to converse about harassment issues

Create specialized training for managers and supervisors

Build a culture where harassment is unlikely to take place

Ensure everyone understands the process for reporting a complaint
Pay Equality
Most state laws work in providing a broader protection than the federal Equal Pay Act by
requiring their employers to pay men and women equally for “the substantial similar” work they
do, rather than for “equal” work. Adding to this, many states have expanded fair-pay
requirements beyond gender to include race and other protected characteristics. So how do we
define pay equity? In general pay equality means compensating employees with the same when
they perform the same or similar job duties, while accounting for other factors, for example their
experience level, performance of job and tenure with the employer as explained by Karen
Denney (who is an attorney with Haynes and Boone in Fort Worth, Texas).
Being consistent with the #MeToo movement, it is noted that nearly all state laws on the subject
mandate greater transparency in the workplace and work in protecting employees from
retaliation when they attempt to correct pay disparities. Some states also protect employees from
retaliation when they openly discuss their pay with co-workers.
Why does pay equity matter to employers is because by ensuring employees are paid equally,
employers can increase efficiency, have higher creativity and productivity by helping to attract
the best employees, reduce turnover and increase commitment to the organization,” says Cheryl
Pinarchick (who is an attorney with Fisher Phillips in Boston).
In HR there are several laws related to pay discrimination:

The Equal Pay Act (EPA).

Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007 (Ledbetter Act).
Providing equal pay to all employees (despite their gender) also reduces the risks of facing an
equal pay claim and helps avoid following:

Expensive legal fees which could cost thousands of pounds to the organization

Lost productivity as management gather evidence and deal with tribunal hearings

Damaged relations with employees and low staff morale

Cost of tribunal decisions – besides own legal fees, employers who tend to lose, have to
pay the claimant a financial award, which could include up to six years’ back pay and, in
some scenarios, the claimant’s legal fees

Loss of reputation in front of customers, shareholders and potential employees

Possible further audits ordered by a tribunal
Benefits
Benefits are defined as any perks that are offered to employees in addition to their salary. The
most common benefits include medical, disability, and life insurance; retirement benefits; paid
time off; and fringe benefits. Benefits can be quite valuable and when it comes to employment, a
benefit is defined as any additional advantage that an employee receives from their employer.
Everyone gets a wage, but benefits go beyond that and include items such as vacation time,
pensions and health insurance coverage and are given to only the deserved employees. Benefits
have certain various categories.

Fringe benefits are those that include paid holidays and retirement plans. They are taxdeductible for employers and remain untaxed for the employees.

Retirement benefits are that which are offered by the Social Security Administration.
This is given to the employees that have reached the age of the retirement and have
accumulated enough credits to be eligible for the program.
Benefits are generally offered as a way to entice employees to apply to an open position within a
company and to retain great employees and making them feel good about an organization.
Employee benefits cover the indirect pay of your workforce. This can be health insurance, stock
options and any myriad of things offered to employees. As we know that, two jobs can offer
exactly same salary to their employees but they can vary greatly in terms of benefits. So it is
important that they make one offer a better financial proposition than the other. This alone
explains the importance of employee benefits in a job offer.
Some employee benefits are country-specific such as in the US, health insurance is a key
component of employee benefits packages and on the other hand, in France, many employees get
restaurant vouchers for every workday. It depends upon purely on the organization what fringe
benefits they offer to their employees. Some may offer vacation to a foreign country and some
may offer free products from their company, or leave leverage etc. Such as my father worked in
Levis for 7 years and as a benefit and his accomplishments, he got offered trips to Malaysia and
Singapore with his family. He also got business class seats rather than the economy one as a
benefit to be a part of their company. Providing fair, performance-based compensation is an
inextricable part of human resource best practices. Compensation and benefits go together with
the former covering your employees’ salary.
Avoiding Lawsuits
A lawsuit is defined as proceeding by a party or parties against any other party in the civil court
of law. The archaic term “suit in law” is only found in a smaller number of laws still effect
today. This term is used in reference to a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plain
tiff, which is a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant’s actions,
demands a equitable remedy.
In one of the many drawbacks, a lawsuit can be time consuming, costly and emotionally draining
for all the businesses involved in it. A lawsuit can have a direct impact by causing a serious
damage to the reputation of the firm, whether it is a small business or a larger one. As per
research, civil lawsuits against businesses have gone up to over 400% in the past 20 years. It is
vital for every business owners to protect themselves from crippling expenses and devastating
consequences that result in an unfavorable decision in court. Other than bad reputation of the
firm, other cons to the human resource of the firm can include that employees would leave the
firm and join another to run away from catching any negative outcomes and reputation to them.
This way the businesses loose onto potential employees that would result the company’s own
loss. Other than that, customers would also prefer not buying anything from your firm and
choosing your competitors over you, again resulting in loss for your own firm. Moreover, no
partners would want to work with a firm that has any negative reputation or is involved in courts
against some lawsuits. This can cost the company a lot of damage in terms of their reputation and
revenues of the firm.
To avoid any lawsuits against your business one can get their business insured that would help
them from lower chances of getting sued in a way that it can help separate your personal and
business finances from the financial strains associated with a lawsuit. Having an insurance
company alongside your business can help you cover legal fees and liability costs. Businesses of
every size should utilize legal contracts that are drafted by an attorney when dealing with another
company or party. The rule highly pertains to all sorts of businesses as a contract can protect
your interests in case of any lawsuits against your business. It is crucial to define the services you
are offering to your potential customers in an order to reduce the possibility of any existing legal
disputes. Legal documentation will indicate what was expected from each party involved in a
binding agreement.
HR Legal Compliances
It is crucial for every business to ensure that they are complaint with all the standards and laws
that are set of by the government, as well as, various industries. And every department consisting
in the business would be responsible for adhering to said laws. In other words, the business needs
to stay compliant. Similarly, HR compliance plays a vital role in ensuring that a business is being
fair in its own HR practices.
Staying up to date with the changing job industry standards is crucial, which is the reason why
HR compliance laws tend to be revised and checked each year. Proper compliance activities have
an influence on the employee’s development, retention as well as hiring. It is crucial to develop
the understanding of your objectives and the current growth strategy you have since it helps you
understand how compliance practices can impact decisions of the business or vice versa.
HR compliance is basically the development of various policies and procedures that ensure you
to carry out fair practices in accordance with the law and regulations. The main motive of the
firm is to locate the compliance sweet spot which is where you adhere to all the regulations and
laws while also ensuring your firm’s human capital resources objectives are met. As labor laws
evolve, so does HR policy. The HR responsibilities also change that makes it harder for HR
policies, there are a few things to always remember that are crucial for the business to know;

Your business is subject to audits from enforcing agencies which will bring about
penalties and fines for non-compliance.

Companies must in any case follow all employment laws that include state laws, federal
laws, and anti-discrimination laws.

Lack of knowledge of compliance obligations is not a legal defense.

Mitigating compliance risks can save up for your company from any lawsuits and
subsequent bankruptcy.
As regulatory mandates changes, new compliance problems arise. The reason why it is crucial
for companies to update their HR departments on regular bases, and vice versa.
At the end I would like to add that any successful organization must invest sufficiently on HRM
aspect failure to which the wrong organization culture will be developed