1 Week 1 Case Quickwrite Sheri LG Hendrix Human Resources Management HRM: 400 Legal Aspects of HRM Dr. Rebecca Booth September 4, 2022 2 Week 1 Case Quickwrite 1. What terms were the most important concepts of this week’s lesson? Be sure to define any important terms in your own words. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is probably the most important concept I learned about this week. Prior to this material I only had a vague idea of what the Act was about. Now I have a much better understanding of what it was, what it stood for, and what its purpose was. The Civil Rights Act ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Title VII was a main component of the Civil Rights Act. In addition to making it illegal to discriminate based on the categories above, it developed the EEOC that could represent employees filing claims for discrimination. It also made it illegal to use Federal Funds on any type of discriminatory programs. It gave the Department of Education, then called the Office of Education, the authority to help with school desegregation. Finally it prohibited the unequal treatment of voting requirements among the protected groups. There were many changes and amendments to the Act along the way that related to employment and human resources. 1964 – EEOC Created 1972 – The EEOC can file civil suit in Federal court and represent a person claiming a violation of the Act. 1991 – It allowed compensatory recovery and punitive damages up to $300,000. Punitive was allowed only when the employer is guilty of intentional discrimination. The state and federal government developed anti- 3 discrimination laws. However, suit cannot be brought in both state and federal court at the same time. One has to concede until the other claim is settled. 2. What was your muddiest point? I do not understand what would qualify as a Bona Fide Occupational Qualification or BOFQ, allowing some discriminatory practices. I can’t think of anything that would make it ok to discriminate in employment in any way. I would like an example so maybe I can understand this better. 3. What would you like to know more about from this lesson and why? I would like to know more about the difference between discriminatory treatment and discriminatory impact. These are two rather important issues that I think an HRM employee should completely understand to stay in compliance and make sure discrimination is removed from the workplace. 4. How does this lesson relate to something you have already learned outside of this class? I don’t know if it was necessarily related to something I learned, but it relates to something I experienced. Years ago, I held an executive position at a major trucking department. I had some shoulder injuries and ended up becoming addicted to opiates. Prior to this incident I had a stellar work performance history with this company with nothing but good things in my record. I decided to go to rehab on my own before it affected my personal and professional life. In addition to my HR representative, and under know obligation, but out of respect, I told my direct supervisor. Once my outpatient treatment was complete and my schedule returned to normal, he began treating me unfairly. He set up impossible deadlines and triple. d my work after 4 discharging the only other employee I had to help me for a company of well over 2,000 trucks and 3,000 or more drivers and 4,000 vendors I had to deal with. He created such a hostile work environment that I resigned after 13 years of employment. I considered filing a claim, but I thought the owner of the company would be held liable for my supervisor’s behavior and I did not want that to happen. I wonder though if this would have been protected under the anti-discrimination laws? 5. Why do you think you were required to learn this content? I think its pretty obvious we had to learn this material because it has to do with laws related to discrimination and fairness in the workplace. Understanding this content will help understand the history of discriminatory treatment and how current legislation affects HRM. HR Professionals need to have at least a basic understanding of the Civil Rights Act to actively eliminate discrimination in the workplace. 5 References Editorial, I. (-1, November 30). Human Resources Management and the law - encyclopedia business terms. Inc.com. Retrieved September 3, 2022, from https://www.inc.com/encyclopedia/human-resources-management-and-the-law.html webmaster, O. R. D. P. (2009). Social Security. Course: Applying Common Law Control Test for Employer/Employee Relationships. Retrieved September 3, 2022, from https://www.ssa.gov/section218training/advanced_course_10.htm
