Chapter 02 Equal Employment Opportunity and Huamn Resources Managmement

Copyright © 2004 South-Western. All rights reserved. PowerPoint Presentation by Charlie Cook

Copyright © 2004 South-Western. All rights reserved. 2–2

ObjectivesAfter studying this chapter, you should be able to:

1. Explain the reasons behind passage of EEO legislation.

2. Prepare an outline describing the major laws affecting equal employment opportunity. Describe bona fide occupational qualification and religious preference as EEO issues.

3. Discuss sexual harassment and immigration reform and control as EEO concerns.

4. Explain the use of the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures.


Objectives (cont’d)After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

5. Provide examples illustrating the concept of adverse impact and apply the four-fifths rule.

6. Discuss significant court cases impacting equal employment opportunity.

7. Illustrate the various enforcement procedures affecting equal employment opportunity.

8. Describe affirmative action and the basic steps in developing an affirmative action program.


Historical Perspective of EEO Legislation

• Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)The treatment of individuals in all aspects of

employment—hiring, promotion, training, etc.—in a fair and nonbiased manner.

• Changing National Values• Economic Disparity• Early Legal Developments


The Legal Environment

Source: Adapted from James Ledvinda And Vida Scarpello, Federal Regulation of Personnel and Human Resources Management, 2e. (Boston: PWS-Kent Publishing, 1990).

ConcernsConcernsConcernsConcerns

• Fairness issues• Economic disparity• Changing material

values• Interest group

agendas• Political party

mandates• Loop-holes in

current legislationState Court

System

Federal Court

System

• Passed by congress

• Passed by state legislature

• Presidential executive orders

Type name here

Type title here

• Federal agencies • State agencies• Independent

commissions

• Rulings• Written

regulations• Complaint

investigations• Technical

assistance• Lawsuits

• Planning compliance strategies

• Formulating appropriate HR policies

• Briefing and training employees and managers

• Defending lawsuits• Working with

government agencies lobbying for policy changes

Opinions and Decisions

LawsLawsLawsLaws AgenciesAgenciesAgenciesAgencies ManagementManagementResponsesResponses

ManagementManagementResponsesResponses

RegulatoryRegulatoryActionAction

RegulatoryRegulatoryActionAction

Challenges to Laws

Presentation Slide 2–1


Government Regulation of EEO

Figure 2.1aPresentation Slide 2–2a



Figure 2.1bPresentation Slide 2–2b



Figure 2.1cPresentation Slide 2–3


Jurisdiction of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

• All private employers in interstate commerce who employ fifteen or more employees for twenty or more weeks per year

• State and local governments

• Private and public employment agencies, including the U.S. Employment Service

• Joint labor-management committees that govern apprenticeship or training programs

• Labor unions having fifteen or more members or employees

• Public and private educational institutions

• Foreign subsidiaries of U.S. organizations employing U.S. citizens


Exemptions From Antidiscrimination Regulations• Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ)

Suitable defense against a discrimination charge only where age, religion, sex, or national origin is an actual qualification for performing the job.

• Business NecessityWork-related practice that is necessary to the safe

and efficient operation of an organization.


Age Discrimination Actions

• Excluding older workers from important work activities.

• Making negative changes in the performance evaluations of older employees.

• Denying older employees job-related education, career development, or promotional opportunities.

• Selecting younger job applicants over older, better-qualified candidates.

• Pressuring older employees into taking early retirement.

• Reducing the job duties and responsibilities of older employees.

• Terminating older employees through downsizing.


What Is a “Disability”?

• The Americans With Disabilities Act defines a disability as:A physical or mental impairment that substantially

limits one or more of the major life activities.A record of such impairment.Being regarded as having

such an impairment.


What Is a “Disability”? (cont’d)

• The ADA does not cover:Homosexuality or bisexualityGender-identity disorders not resulting from physical

impairment or other sexual-behavior disordersCompulsive gambling, kleptomania, or pyromaniaPsychoactive substance-use disorders resulting from

current illegal use of drugs Current illegal use of drugs Infectious or communicable diseases of public health

significance (applied to food-handling jobs only and excluding AIDS)


ADA Suggestions for an Accessible Workplace

• Install easy-to-reach switches.• Provide sloping sidewalks and

entrances.• Install wheelchair ramps.• Reposition shelves for the easy

reach of materials.• Rearrange tables, chairs, vending

machines, dispensers, and other furniture and fixtures.

• Widen doors and hallways.• Add raised markings on control

buttons.• Provide designated accessible

parking spaces.

• Install hand controls or manipulation devices.

• Provide flashing alarm lights.• Remove turnstiles and revolving

doors or provide alternative accessible paths.

• Install holding bars in toilet areas.• Redesign toilet partitions to

increase access space.• Add paper cup dispensers at water

fountains.• Replace high-pile, low-density

carpeting.• Reposition telephones, water

fountains, and other needed equipment.

• Add raised toilet seats.

Figure 2.2


EEO Rules Applicable to Federal Contractors and Agencies

Figure 2.3


Fair Employment Practice Laws

• Fair Employment Practices (FEPs)State and local laws governing equal employment

opportunity that are often more comprehensive than federal laws.

Although Title VII of the Civil Rights Act exempts employers with fewer than fifteen employees, many states extend antidiscrimination laws to smaller employers with one or more workers.


Sexual Harassment

• Sexual Harassment (under Title VII)Unwelcome advances, requests for sexual favors,

and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature in the working environment

An employer is considered guilty of sexual harassment when: The employer knew or should have known about the

unlawful conduct and failed to remedy it or to take corrective action.

The employer allows nonemployees (customers or salespeople) to sexually harass employees.


Sexual HarassmentUnwelcome advances, requests for sexual favors, and Unwelcome advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature in other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature in the working environment.the working environment.

Hostile EnvironmentHostile EnvironmentHostile EnvironmentHostile EnvironmentQuid Pro QuoQuid Pro QuoQuid Pro QuoQuid Pro Quo

Types of Sexual HarassmentTypes of Sexual HarassmentTypes of Sexual HarassmentTypes of Sexual Harassment

SubmissionSubmissionSubmissionSubmission RejectionRejectionRejectionRejection UncomfortableUncomfortableUncomfortableUncomfortable Subjective Subjective ResponseResponse

Subjective Subjective ResponseResponse



Sexual Harassment

• Quid Pro Quo HarassmentOccurs when “submission to or rejection of sexual

conduct is used as a basis for employment decisions.”

Involves a tangible or economic consequence, such as a demotion or loss of pay.

Oncale v Sundowner Offshore Services (1998) Same-sex sexual harassment (male-to-male, female-to-

female) is covered under Title VII.


Sexual Harassment (cont’d)

• Hostile EnvironmentOccurs when unwelcome sexual conduct “has the

purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with job performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.

Dirty jokes, vulgar slang, nude pictures, swearing, and personal ridicule and insult constitute sexual harassment when an employee finds them offensive.

Courts use a “reasonable person” test for hostile environment.


Immigration Reform and Control Act (1986)

• Employers must comply with the Act by:Having employees fill out their part of Form I-9.Checking documents establishing an employee’s

identity and eligibility to work. Complete the employer’s section of Form I-9.Retain Form I-9 for at least three years.Present Form I-9 for inspection to an Immigration and

Naturalization Service officer or to a Department of Labor officer upon request.


Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures• Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection

ProceduresProcedural document published in the Federal

Register to assist employers in complying with federal regulations against discriminatory actions.

Applies to employee selection procedures in the areas of hiring, retention, promotion, transfer, demotion, dismissal, and referral.


Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures• Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection

Procedures define discrimination as:The use of any selection procedure which has an

adverse impact on the hiring, promotion, or other employment or membership opportunities of members of any race, sex, or ethnic group (protected class) will be considered to be discriminatory and inconsistent with these guidelines, unless the procedure has been validated in accordance with these guidelines (or, certain other provisions are satisfied).


Validity

• The requirement that, when using a test or other selection instrument to choose individuals for employment, employers must be able to prove that the selection instrument bears a direct relationship to job success.Proof of validity is established through validation

studies that show the job relatedness or lack thereof for the selection instrument under study.


Forms of Discrimination

• Adverse ImpactThe rejection of a significantly higher percentage of a

protected class for employment, placement, or promotion when compared with the successful, nonprotected class.

Possibly the unintentional result of an innocent act, yet the outcome is still discriminatory.

• Disparate TreatmentAn employer’s intentional unequal treatment or

evaluation by different standards of protected-class members.


Determining Discrimination

• Adverse Rejection Rate, or Four-Fifths RuleRule of thumb followed by the EEOC in determining

adverse impact for use in enforcement proceedings. According to the Uniform Guidelines, a selection

program has an adverse impact when the selection rate for any racial, ethnic, or sex class is less than four-fifths (or 80 percent) of the rate of the class with the highest selection rate.

The four-fifths rule is not a legal definition of discrimination, rather it is used to monitor severe discrimination practices.


Determining Discrimination

• McDonnell Douglas Test to Establish a Prima Facie Case of Discrimination:

1. The person is a member of a protected class.

2. The person applied for a job for which he or she was qualified.

3. The person was rejected,despite being qualified.

4. After rejection,the employer continued to seek other applicants with similar qualifications.

The burden now shifts to the employer to prove that the action taken against the individual was not discriminatory.


Determining Adverse Impact:The Four-fifths Rule

Source: Adoption of Questions and Answers to Clarify and Provide a Common Interpretation of the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures, Federal Register 44, no. 43 (March 2, 1979): 11998.


Determining Adverse Impact

The Four-Fifths Rule A rule of thumb followed by the EEOC in determining adverse impact for use in enforcement proceedings.

Employees Blacks (6) Hispanics (3) Whites (12)

Number Given Raise 2 2 9

Selection Ratio .33 .66 .75

Minority Selection Ratio/ Majority Selection Ratio

.33/.75 = .44 .66/.75 = .88

Adverse Impact Yes No



Workforce Utilization Analysis

• Workforce Utilization AnalysisThe process of comparing the composition by race

and sex for jobs within an organization against composition of the employer’s relevant labor market.

The workforce is at parity when its composition matches the relevant labor market.

If the workforce composition is below external figures, the affected protected classes are underutilized and the employer should take affirmative steps to correct the imbalance.


Significant Court Cases

• Griggs v Duke Power Company (1971)The Supreme Court ruled that employer

discrimination need not be overt or intentional to be present—employment practices having an adverse impact on protected classes can be illegal even when applied equally to all employees.

Employers have the burden of proving that employment requirements are job-related or constitute a business necessity and are absolutely necessary for job success.

Good intent, or absence of intent to discriminate, is not a sufficient defense of adverse impact.


Significant Court Cases (cont’d)

• Albemarle Paper Company v Moody (1975)Supreme Court strengthened requirements on

employers to demonstrate that tests used in hiring or promotion decisions are job-related and valid predictors of job success.

• Wards Cove Packing Co. v Atonio (1989)Supreme Court held that a statistical disparity among

protected members of a workforce does not show proof of discrimination—the proper comparison is to qualified applicants in the employer’s relevant labor market.


U.S.Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Case Figures, Fiscal Years 1994–2000

Figure 2.4Source: Data compiled by the Office of Research, Information and Planning from EEOC’s Charge Data System’s national database.


Section D, EEO-1 Report

Figure 2.5


EEOC Poster

HRM 6


Internal Discrimination Complaint Procedure


Employee Employee discrimination discrimination

chargecharge

Employee Employee discrimination discrimination

chargecharge

Reported to Reported to manager or manager or supervisorsupervisor

Reported to Reported to manager or manager or supervisorsupervisor

Organizational EEO Organizational EEO officer or officer or

designated HR staff designated HR staff personperson

Organizational EEO Organizational EEO officer or officer or

designated HR staff designated HR staff personperson

InvestigationInvestigationInvestigationInvestigation

Decision on Decision on chargecharge

Decision on Decision on chargecharge

No basis for No basis for charge: charge charge: charge

dismisseddismissed

No basis for No basis for charge: charge charge: charge

dismisseddismissed

Appeal to organizational Appeal to organizational EEO grievance committeeEEO grievance committee

Appeal to organizational Appeal to organizational EEO grievance committeeEEO grievance committee

Charge Charge upheldupheld

Charge Charge upheldupheld

Accused:Oral or written reprimandSuspensionDischarge

Harmed Employee:Restore all lost employment conditions


How to Achieve Fairness in EEO

1. Correct stereotyped thinking.

2. Eliminate irrelevant job requirements.

3. Open job and promotion opportunities to all protected classes.

4. Promote on the basis of merit rather than seniority.

5. Provide equal pay for equal work.

6. Modify employee benefits to needs of women, minorities, and working families.

7. Management training in EEO requirements.



Filing a Charge of Employment Discrimination

Figure 2.6


Affirmative Action Issues

• Affirmative ActionPolicy that goes beyond equal employment

opportunity by requiring organizations to comply with the law and correct past discriminatory practices by increasing the numbers of minorities and women in specific positions.

• Reverse DiscriminationThe act of giving preference to members of protected

classes to the extent that unprotected individuals believe they are suffering discrimination.


Affirmative Action Court Cases

• University of California Regents v Bakke (1978)The Supreme Court ruled that:

Applicants must be evaluated on an individual basis. Race can be one factor used in the evaluation process as

long as other competitive factors are considered.

The Court stated that affirmative action programs were not illegal (reverse discrimination) per se as long as rigid quota systems were not specified for different protected classes.


Affirmative Action Court Cases (cont’d)

• United Steelworkers of America v Weber (1974)The Supreme Court held that voluntary affirmative

action programs are permissible where they attempt to eliminate racial imbalances in “traditionally segregated job categories.”

In Weber, the Court did not endorse all voluntary affirmative action programs.


Managing Diversity: Affirmative Action

• Challenges to Affirmative Action (AA):AA has not improved protected groups employment. Individuals hired under AA feel prejudged as inferior

performers, and are often viewed as “tokens.” AA programs have failed in assimilating protected

classes into the workforce. Preferences shown toward one protected class may

create conflicts between other minority groups.


Basic Steps In Developing An Effective Affirmative Action Program1. Issue a written equal employment opportunity policy and

affirmative action commitment.

2. Appoint a top official with responsibility and authority to direct and implement the program.

3. Publicize the policy and affirmative action commitment.

4. Survey present minority and female employment by department and job classification.

5. Develop goals and timetables to improve utilization of minorities and women in each area where underutilization has been identified.

6. Develop and implement specific programs to achieve goals.

7. Establish an internal audit and reporting system to monitor and evaluate progress in each aspect of the program.

8. Develop supportive in-house and community programs.HRM 7


Court Decisions on Affirmative Action

• Adarand Constructors v Peña (1995)The Supreme Court ruled that federal programs that

use race or ethnicity as a basis for decision making must be strictly scrutinized to ensure that they promote “compelling” governmental interests.

• Hopwood v State of Texas (1996)The Court ruled in a decision affecting admission

standards at the University of Texas law school that diversity could not constitute a compelling state interest justifying racial preference in selection decisions.

Recruiting & HR

Chapter 02 Equal Employment Opportunity and Huamn Resources Managmement