CHAPTER 3: THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT: EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY AND SAFETY

I. The Legal System In The United States

1. Legislative Branch
- Consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
- Develop laws that govern many HRM activities.
- Most of the laws stem from a perceived societal need.
2. Executive Branch
- Consists of the president of the United States and the many regulatory agencies the president
oversees.
- The executive branch affects these laws in many ways.
 The president can propose bills to Congress that, if passed, would become laws.
 The president has the power to veto any law passed by Congress, thus ensuring that few laws
are passed without presidential approval—which allows the president to influence how laws are
written.
 The regulatory agencies, under the authority of the president, have responsibility for enforcing
the laws
 The president can issue executive orders, which sometimes regulate the activities of
organizations that have contracts with the federal government.
 The president appoints all the judges in the federal judicial system, subject to approval from the
legislative branch.
 Affects the interpretation of many laws.
3. Judicial Branch
- Consists of the federal court system, which is made up of three levels.
- The first level consists of the U.S. District Courts and quasi-judicial administrative agencies.
 The district courts hear cases involving alleged violations of federal laws.
 The quasi-judicial agencies, such as the National Labor Relations Board hear cases regarding
their particular jurisdictions
- Can appeal the decision to the U.S. Courts of Appeals if parties are not satisfied.
- The Supreme Court serves as the court of final appeal. Decisions made by the Supreme Court
are binding; they can be overturned only through legislation.
II. Equal Employment Opportunity
- Equal employment opportunity (EEO): the government’s attempt to ensure that all individuals
have an equal chance for employment, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or
national origin.
1. Constitutional Amendments:
- 13th Amendment: abolished slavery
- 14th Amendment: provides equal protection for all citizens and requires due process in state
action
2. Congressional Legislation:
- Reconstruction Civil Rights Acts (1866 and 1871)
- Equal Pay Act of 1963
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
- Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
- Rehabilitation Act of 1973
- Vietnam Era Veteran’s Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974
- Pregnancy Discrimination Act
- Civil Rights Act of 1991
- Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
3. Executive Orders
- Executive Order 11246: prohibits government contactors from discrimination
- Executive Order 11478: government employment policies based on merit and fitness
III. Enforcement of Equal Employment Opportunity
1. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
- Investigation and Resolution
 Individuals who feel they have been discriminated against must file a complaint with the EEOC
or a similar state agency within 180 days of the incident.
 Failure to file a complaint within the 180 days results in the case’s being dismissed immediately,
with certain exceptions, such as the enactment of a seniority system that has an intentionally
discriminatory purpose.
 EEOC has 60 days to investigate complaint.
- Information Gathering
 The EEOC also plays a role in monitoring the hiring practices of organizations
 The EEOC computer analyzes these reports to identify patterns of discrimination that can then
be attacked through class-action suits.
- Issuance of Guidelines
 Issue guidelines that help employers determine when their decisions are violations of the laws
enforced by the EEOC.
 Guidelines are not laws themselves, but the courts give great deference to them when hearing
employment discrimination cases.
2. Office Of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP)
- Is the agency responsible for enforcing the executive orders that cover companies doing
business with the federal government.
- Audits government contractors to ensure they are actively pursuing goals in their affirmative
action plans
IV. Types Of Discrimination
1. Disparate Treatment
- Exist when individuals in similar situations are treated differently.
- Different treatments of individuals based on the individual’s race, color, religion, sex, national
origin, age, or disability status.
- The plaintiff’s burden:
 The plaintiff belongs to a protected group.
 The plaintiff applied for and was qualified for the job.
 Despite possessing the qualifications, the plaintiff was rejected
 After the plaintiff was rejected, the position remained open and the employer continued to seek
applicants with similar qualifications, or the position was filled by someone with similar
qualifications.
- It is important to note that what the court is trying to do is rule out the most obvious reasons for
rejecting the plaintiff’s claim
- The defendant’s rebuttal: Bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ):
 A necessary (not merely preferred) qualification for performing job
 The Supreme Court has ruled that BFOQ’s are limited to policies directly related to a worker’s
ability to do the job.
- The plaintiff’s rebuttal:
 The plaintiff must now show that the reason offered by the defendant was not in fact the reason
for its decision but merely a “pretext” or excuse for its actual discriminatory decision.
- Mixed-motive cases:
 The defendant acknowledges that some discriminatory motive existed but argues that the same
hiring decision would have been reached even without the discriminatory motive.
2. Disparate Impact
- Occur when a facially neutral employment practice disproportionately excludes a protected
group from employment opportunities.
- The four-fifths rule states that a test has disparate impact if the hiring rate for the minority
group is less than four-fifths (or 80%) of the hiring rate for the majority group.
- The standard deviation rule uses actual probability distributions to determine adverse impact.
3. Reasonable Accommodation
- An employer’s obligation to do something to enable an otherwise qualified person to perform a
job.
 Companies should recognize needs based on individuals’ religion or disabilities.
 Employers may need to make such accommodations as adjusting work schedules or dress codes,
making the workplace more accessible, or restructuring jobs.
V. Retaliation for Participation and Opposition
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states that employers cannot retaliate against employees
for either “opposing” a perceived illegal employment practice or “participating in a proceeding”
related to an alleged illegal employment practice.
VI. Current Issues Regarding Diversity and Equal Employment Opportunity
1. Sexual Harassment:
- Refer 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.
2. Affirmative Action And Reverse Discrimination
- Few people would disagree that having a diverse workforce in terms of race and gender is a
desirable goal, if all individuals have the necessary qualifications.
- Many organizations today are concerned with developing and managing diversity.
- Have affirmative action programs to increase minority representation  eliminate
discrimination in workplace
3. Outcomes Of The Americans With Disabilities Act
- The ADA was passed with the laudable goals of providing employment opportunities for the
truly disabled that in the absence of legislation, were unable to find employment.
- However, as often occurs with legislation, the impact is not necessarily what was intended.
 There has been increased litigation
 The kinds of cases being filed are not based on the rights that Congress intended to protect.
4. LGBT Issues
- Society, in general, and most large businesses have developed much more inclusive attitudes
toward LGBT individuals
- Most large companies state that they do not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, and
many have opened up benefit packages to same-sex partners of their employees.
- However, the state of employment law has not completely caught up yet.
VII. Employee Safety
1. The Occupational Safety And Health Act (OSHA)
- OSHA authorized the federal government to establish and enforce occupational safety and
health standards for all places of employment engaging in interstate commerce.
- Responsible for:
 Inspecting employers
 Applying safety and health standards
 Levying fines for violation
- Employees have the right to:
 Request an inspection
 Have a representative present at an inspection
 Have dangerous substances identified
 Be promptly informed about exposure to hazards and be given access to accurate records
regarding exposures
 Have employer violations posted at the work site
2. Safety Awareness Programs
- Reinforcing safe practices:
 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
- Promoting safety internationally:
 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 U.S.