1. CHAPTER 3 Providing Equal Employment Opportunity and a Safe Workplace
fundamentals of Human Resource Management 4th edition by R.A. Noe, J.R. Hollenbeck, B. Gerhart, and P.M. Wright
CHAPTER 3
Providing Equal Employment Opportunity and a Safe Workplace 1

2. EEO: Legislation Equal Pay Act (1963) Civil Rights Acts (1866 & 1871)
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 granted all persons the same property rights as white citizens.
The Civil Rights Act of 1871 granted all citizens the right to sue in federal court if they feel they have been deprived of some civil right.
Men and women in an organization doing the same work must be paid equally.
Equal is defined in terms of skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions.

3. EEO: Legislation (continued)
Title VII Civil Rights Act (1964)
Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
Prohibits employers from discriminating based on:
Race
Color
Religion
Sex
National origin
Applies to organizations that employ 15 or more persons.
Prohibits discrimination against workers who are over the age of 40.
Age discrimination complaints make up a large percentage of the complaints filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

4. EEO: Legislation (continued)
Vocational Rehabilitation Act (1973)
Vietnam Era Veteran’s Readjustment Act (1974)
Covered organizations must engage in affirmative action for individuals with disabilities.
Employers are encouraged to recruit qualified individuals with disabilities and to make reasonable accommodations to them.
Requires federal contractors and subcontractors to take affirmative action toward employing veterans of the Vietnam War.
It covers veterans who served between August 5, 1964 and May 7, 1975.

5. EEO: Legislation (continued)
Pregnancy Discrimination Act (1978)
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990
Defines discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related form of medical condition to be a form of illegal sex discrimination.
Benefits, including health insurance, should cover pregnancy and related medical conditions in the same way as other medical conditions.
Protects individuals with disabilities from being discriminated against in the workplace.
Prohibits discrimination based on disability in all employment practices.
Employers must take steps to accommodate individuals covered by the act.

6. EEO: Legislation (continued)
Civil Rights Act (1991)
Uniformed Services Employment & Reemployment Rights Act
Adds compensatory and punitive damages in cases of discrimination under Title VII and the ADA.
The amount of punitive damages is limited by the act and depends on the size of the organization charged with discrimination.
Employers must reemploy workers who left jobs to fulfill military duties for up to five years.
Should be in the job they would have held if they had not left to serve in the military.

7. EEO: Legislation (continued)
Executive Order 11246
Executive Order 11478
Prohibits federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
Employers whose contracts meet minimum size requirements must engage in affirmative action.
Requires the federal government to base all its employment decisions on merit and fitness.
Also covers organizations doing at least $10,000 worth of business with the federal government.

8. Responsible for enforcing most of the EEO laws.
The Government’s Role in Providing For EEO: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
Responsible for enforcing most of the EEO laws.
Investigates and resolves complaints about discrimination
Gathers information
Issues guidelines
Monitors organizations’ hiring practices
Complaints must be filed within 180 days of the incident.
EEOC has 60 days to investigate the complaint.

9. Businesses’ Role in Providing for EEO: Avoiding Discrimination
Disparate Treatment
Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ)
Differing treatment of individuals based on the individuals’ race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability status.
A necessary (not merely preferred) qualification for performing a job.
The Supreme Court has ruled that BFOQ’s are limited to policies directly related to a worker’s ability to do the job.

10. Businesses’ Role in Providing for EEO: Avoiding Discrimination (continued)
Sexual Harassment: refers to unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature when:
Submission to such conduct is made explicitly or implicitly a term of condition of an individual’s employment,
Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual, or
Such conduct has the purpose of effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.

11. Workplace Safety: Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act)
Authorizes the federal government to establish and enforce occupational safety and health standards for all places of employment engaging in interstate commerce.
Established the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Responsible for:
Inspecting employers
Applying safety and health standards
Levying fines for violation

12. Workplace Safety: Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) (continued)
General Duty Clause
Specific Duties
Each employer has a general duty to furnish each employee a place of employment free from recognized hazards that cause or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm.
Employers must keep records of work-related injuries and illnesses.
Employers must post and annual summary of these records from February 1 to April 30 in the following year.

13. Job Hazard Analysis Technique Technic of Operations Review (TOR)
Employer-Sponsored Safety and Health Programs: Identifying and Communicating Job Hazards
Job Hazard Analysis Technique
Technic of Operations Review (TOR)
Safety promotion technique that involves breaking down a job into basic elements, then rating each element for its potential for harm or injury.
Method of promoting safety by determining which specific element of a job led to a past accident.

14. Employer-Sponsored Safety and Health Programs (continued)
Reinforcing Safe Practices
Promoting Safety Internationally
Implementing a safety incentive program to reward workers for their support of and commitment to safety goals.
Start by focusing on monthly or quarterly goals.
Encourage suggestions for improving safety.
Cultural differences make this difficult.
Laws, enforcement practices, and political climates vary from country to country.
Companies may operate in countries where labor standards are far less strict than in the U.S.

15. Summary
Human resource management is regulated by the three branches of government:
Legislative branch develops and enacts laws
Executive branch and its regulatory agencies implement the laws
Judicial branch hears cases related to employment and interprets the law
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is responsible for enforcing most of the EEO laws. It investigates and resolves complaints, gathers information, and issues guidelines.