Fundamentals of
Human Resource Management 11e
Chapter 3
Equal Opportunity Employment
Introduction
 Almost every U.S. organization, public and private, must
abide by
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The 1964 Civil Rights Act
Its 1972 amendment, the Equal Employment Opportunity
Act.
Other federal laws regulating employment
State and municipal laws may go beyond federal laws
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Laws Affecting Discriminatory
Practices
 The 1964 Civil Rights Act
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Outlawed racial segregation and discrimination in
employment, public facilities, and education
Title VII covers hiring, promotion, dismissal, benefits,
compensation or any other terms, conditions, or privileges
based on:
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Race
Religion
Color
Gender
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National origin
Organizations must have at least
15 employees to be covered.
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Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 11e
Race and Color Discrimination
 Based on personal characteristics related to
race such as:
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Skin color
Hair texture
Facial features
Name
Attire
Accent
Marriage to a minority
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Religious Discrimination
 Based on religious beliefs and how they are
practiced:
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All religions are covered
Absence of religion is covered too
Protected beliefs must be sincerely held
Employer must be notified
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Religious Discrimination
 Reasonable accommodations must be made as
long as they don’t cause an undue hardship for
the employer. Accommodations may include:
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Dress
Head coverings
Facial hair
Religious holidays
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National Origin Discrimination
 Based on citizenship or permanent residence
status
 May overlap with race or color discrimination
 Examples:
• Name
• Dress
• Accent
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Sex and Gender Discrimination
 Expanded and clarified by other laws.
 Examples of discrimination include differences
in treatment that involve:
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Wages and benefits
Procedures
Leaves of absence
Dress codes
Job categories
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Laws Affecting Discriminatory
Practices
 The 1972 Equal Employment Opportunity Act
(EEOA)
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Enforced the 1964 Civil Rights Act
Established the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC)
Expanded scope of civil rights protection to employees of
state and local governments, education, and labor
Introduced affirmative action (Exec. Order 11246)
The EEOC website has helpful information for employees and employers
Their “Youth at Work” website helps young workers understand their rights.
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Laws Affecting Discriminatory
Practices
 Executive Order 11246
• prohibits discrimination by federal agencies and contractors
or subcontractors
 Executive Order 11375
• added sex-based criteria to 11246
 Executive Order 11478
• added that employment practices of the federal government
must be based on merit and prohibit discrimination
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Laws Affecting Discriminatory
Practices
 1967 Age Discrimination in Employment Act
(ADEA)
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Protects people 40 and older
Stopped companies from requiring mandatory retirement
at any age
Possible discriminatory practices may include:
• Fitness requirements not relevant to the position
• Different health benefits
• Changing job requirements
• Layoffs that target older workers
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Laws Affecting Discriminatory
Practices.
 Equal Pay Act (1963)
• As long as jobs are substantially equal, pay should
be equal
• Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (2009)
 Allows workers to file pay discrimination claims within
180 days of any discriminatory paycheck.
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Laws Affecting Discriminatory
Practices
 Pregnancy Discrimination Act (1978)
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Pregnancy may not be considered in employment
decisions
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Hiring
Insurance
Leaves
Working conditions
ADA allows accommodations for physical limitations
FMLA allows leave with similar job upon return
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Laws Affecting Discriminatory
Practices
 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990
• Extends protection and reasonable accommodations to
those with a disability
• Defines disabled as a person who:
 Has a physical or mental impairment that substantially
limits one or more life activities
 Has a history or record of such impairment
 Is perceived by others as having such impairment
Covers not only those with mobility and communication disabilities,
but those with HIV/AIDS and intellectual disabilities
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Important ADA Terms
Qualified
Individuals
Major Life
Activities
Essential Job
Functions
Reasonable
Accommodations
• Meet job related
requirements
such as
education,
certification or
experience
• Seeing, hearing,
eating, walking,
standing,
breathing,
concentrating,
caring for
oneself and
many others.
• Activities
explained in the
job description
that are required
for success in
the position
• Modifications to
the work
environment that
allow a qualified
individual to
work.
• Relevant to size
of organization.
• May include
wider doorways,
ramps, adaptive
software,
modified work
schedules and
many others.
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Laws Affecting Discriminatory
Practices
 ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA)
• Makes it easier for employees to prove disability
such as
 Cancer
 Diabetes
 Bipolar disorder
 Immune system function
 Epilepsy
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Laws Affecting Discriminatory
Practices
 The Civil Rights Act of 1991
• Reinforced the 1964 Act which had been weakened by a
number of Supreme Court cases
• Returned burden of proof that discrimination did not occur
back to the employer
• Includes the Glass Ceiling Act and established the Glass
Ceiling Commission to study management practices
First law to allow individuals
to sue for punitive damages
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Laws Affecting Discriminatory
Practices
 Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993
(FMLA)
• Allows employees to take up to 12 weeks of
unpaid leave in a 12 month period for
 Birth or adoption of a child or placement of foster child
 Personal or family member illness
 Care of family member with serious injury or illness
who is member of armed services
 Situations rising from active military duty of spouse,
child or parent.
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Laws Affecting Discriminatory
Practices
 To qualify for FMLA leave
• Employer must have at least 50 employees within
a 75 mile radius.
• Employee must
 Have worked at least 12 months and have worked 1,250
hours within the last 12 months.
FMLA difficulties for HR: determining eligibility to
take leave, staffing problems that result, and timing
of leave notification, keeping position open for
employee to return.
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Laws Affecting Discriminatory
Practices
 Uniformed Services Employment and
Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA)
• Strengthens rights of veterans of the Reserves or
National Guard to return to private sector jobs.
• Prohibits employers from discriminating against
applicants with prior military service.
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Laws Affecting Discriminatory
Practices
 Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of
2008 (GINA)
• Prohibits discrimination based on genetic
information such as a family history of a genetic
disease such as breast cancer or Alzheimer’s
Disease.
• Includes hiring decisions and insurance coverage
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Preventing Discrimination
 Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection
Procedures
• Outlines requirements for employers to prove that
they are observing equal employment laws.
• HR policies must be made on job-related factors
• Policies cannot discriminate based on non-related
factors
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Preventing Discrimination
 Adverse Impact
• HR policy or practice has a discriminatory impact
on a protected group
 May be unintentional
 Example: height requirements may discriminate against
women or some minority groups.
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Preventing Discrimination
 Adverse Treatment (Disparate Treatment)
• HR policy or practice treats a protected group
differently resulting in discrimination
 Example: individuals in protected groups are rarely
hired or promoted to certain positions.
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Preventing Discrimination
Four tests may be used to determine if discrimination
has potentially occurred:
geographical
comparisons
4/5ths rule
restricted
policy
McDonnell
Douglas test
But it is up to a judicial body to make the
final determination.
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Preventing Discrimination
4/5ths
rule
 Proportion of minority members hired must equal at least 80 percent
(4/5ths) of the majority members in the population hired
 Issued by the EEOC, it helps to assess if adverse impact has occurred
 Connecticut v. Teal (1984) case established that decisions in each step of
decision process must conform to the 4/5ths rule
Exhibit 3.4 shows an example of compliance and
non-compliance with the 4/5ths rule.
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Preventing Discrimination
restricted policy
Do HRM policies exclude a class of
individuals?
geographical
comparisons
Does company’s mix of employees at all levels reflect its
recruiting market?
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Preventing Discrimination
McDonnell
Douglas
Test
 Four components must exist
1. Individual is a member of a protected group
2. Individual applied for a job for which he or she was
qualified
3. Individual was rejected
4. Employer continued to seek applicants with similar
qualifications after individual was rejected
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Preventing Discrimination
 Affirmative Action Plans
• Seeks to correct past injustices in hiring by
actively seeking minority applicants
• Workforce should resemble the community
• Applies to organizations that contract with the
federal government
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Preventing Discrimination
 How companies can respond to
discrimination charges if found to have
adverse impact:
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Discontinue the practice
Defend against the charges by arguing:
 Business necessity
 Bona fide occupational qualification
 Seniority systems
Proving job relatedness is often the
most common approach
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Exhibit 3-5: Summary of Selected
Supreme Court Cases Affecting EEO
Case
Ruling
Griggs v. Duke Power (1971)
Tests must fairly measure the knowledge or skills required for a job;
also validity of tests.
Albemarle Paper Company v. Moody (1975)
Clarified requirements for using and validating tests in selection.
Washington v. Davis (1976)
Job-related tests are permissible for screening applicants.
Connecticut v. Teal (1984)
Requires all steps in a selection process to meet the 4/5ths rule.
Firefighters Local 1784 v. Stotts (1984)
Layoffs are permitted by seniority despite effects it may have on
minority employees.
Wyant v. Jackson Board of Education (1986)
Layoffs of white workers to establish racial or ethnic balances are
illegal; however, this case reaffirmed the use of affirmative action plans
to correct racial imbalance.
United States v. Paradise (1986)
Quotas may be used to correct significant racial discrimination
practices.
Sheetmetal Workers Local 24 v. EEOC (1987)
Racial preference could be used in layoff decisions only for those who
had been subjected to previous race discrimination.
Johnson v. Santa Clara County Transportation
Agency (1987)
Reaffirmed the use of preferential treatment based on gender to
overcome problems in existing affirmative action plans.
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Enforcing Equal Opportunity
Employment
Federal Government
OFCCP
EEOC
www.eeoc.gov
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 11e
within department
of labor
http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/
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Enforcing Equal Opportunity
Employment
EEOC
Enforces federal laws on civil rights at work.
Follows a five-step process to resolve complaints:
1. EEOC notifies company within 10 days of filing and begins investigation
2. EEOC notifies company of findings within 120 days
3. If complaint is unfounded, process stops
If founded, EEOC tries to correct the problem informally
4. If unsuccessful, EEOC begins mediation (settlement meeting)
5. If unsuccessful, EEOC may file charges in court
Has power to investigate claims but no enforcement power.
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Enforcing Equal Opportunity
Employment
OFCCP
 Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP)
• Responsible for ensuring that contractors doing business
with the Federal government do not discriminate and take
affirmative action
• Follows similar practice as EEOC in evaluating claims
• Can cancel an organization’s contract with the federal
government if organization fails to comply with EEO laws
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Current Issues in Employment
Law
 Sexual Harassment
• Creates intimidating, offensive or hostile
environment
• Unreasonably interferes with individual’s work
• Adversely affects an individual’s employment
opportunities
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Current Issues in Employment
Law
 Sexual Harassment takes two forms
• Quid pro quo harassment
 Sexual behavior is expected as a condition of
employment
• Hostile environment harassment
 Workplace environment is offensive enough to interfere
with the ability to work
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Current Issues in Employment
Law
 Comparable Worth
• Jobs of equal importance to an organization should
earn equal pay
• Factors to consider
 Skills
 Responsibilities
 Working conditions
 Effort
Women earn approximately 80%
of the salary of men
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Current Issues in Employment
Law
 Glass Ceiling
• Invisible barrier blocking promotion to top
management
• Women and minorities are under-represented in
top management positions
Percent of women in top management positions
Thailand 45%
Russia 36%
Hong Kong 36%
Philippines 36%
United States 15%
Japan 10%
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Current Issues in Employment
Law
 Sexual Orientation
• No federal law protection
• 21 states, District of Columbia and Federal Government
prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.
 English Only Laws
• Necessity must be proven
• May violate national origin discrimination protection.
 Appearance and Weight
• No federal law protection
• Discrimination may affect pay, hiring and promotions
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HRM in a Global Environment
Laws affecting HRM vary greatly by country.
China
Canada
India
60/100-hour work-weeks not uncommon. China’s recent labor laws seek to
protect employees from such practices, but progress remains slow
Canadian laws closely parallel those in the U.S.
Caste-based discrimination remains a barrier to equal
employment despite legal and constitutional protection
Australia
Australia’s discrimination laws not enacted until the 1980s
Germany
Representative participation (work councils and board representatives) put
labor on par with management and stockholders
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Fill-in-the-blanks
1. The 1964 Civil Rights Act, Title VII, protects individuals on the basis of
____, _____, ________, _____, and ______.
race, color, religion, sex, national origin
2. The Equal Opportunity Employment Act established the _____.
EEOC
3. The Civil Rights Act of 1991 included the _____ Act.
Glass Ceiling
4. The 4/5ths Rule: number of minority members hired must equal at least
___ percent of the majority members in the population hired.
80
5. With ______, companies argue job relatedness in responding to
accusations of discrimination in hiring.
business necessity
6. The 1971 Supreme Court case _____v.______ ruled that tests must
fairly measure the skills and knowledge required for a job.
Griggs v. Duke Power Company
7. The EEOC defines sexual harassment as creating an ______.
intimidating, offensive, or hostile environment
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