CHAPTER 2

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
AND THE LAW
RAFAEL P. VIZCAYA III
MBA - HRM

PROF. PAUL CHRISTIAN R. ABAD, MBA

CHAPTER 2: Equal Opportunity and the Law

TITLE VII
- Banned the discrimination on the basis
of race color, religion, sex or national
origin with respect to employment

- Hiring, Promotions, Length of

service
CHAPTER 2: Equal Opportunity and the Law

- Empowered to investigate job discrimination

complaints
- Covers all private and public firms with more than 15
employees

- Consists of 5 members, appointed by the President

with consent of the senate, with 5 year term
- Receives complaints, investigates then attempts to
conciliate before enforcing the law
CHAPTER 2: Equal Opportunity and the Law

- Requires employers to take affirmative

actions
- Contractors with contracts of more than
50,000 USD or 50 more employees
- Enforced by Office of Federal Contact
Compliance Programs
CHAPTER 2: Equal Opportunity and the Law

- Unlawful Discrimination in pay base on

gender
- Equal pay for equal work that requires
equivalent skills, and performed under
similar working conditions

“No Violation”
- Merit Systems, Seniority systems,
Earnings by production systems, etc.
CHAPTER 2: Equal Opportunity and the Law

- unlawful to discriminate employees or

applicants due to age

- Between 40 and 65 years of age

- Mandatory retirement at 65 years of age

CHAPTER 2: Equal Opportunity and the Law

- Employment of Handicapped Persons

- Employers with contract more than 2,500 USD

to take affirmative action
CHAPTER 2: Equal Opportunity and the Law

- prohibits using pregnancy, childbirth, or

related medical conditions to discriminate in
hiring, promotion, suspension, or discharge, or
in any term or condition of employment
- employer offers its employees disability
coverage
CHAPTER 2: Equal Opportunity and the Law

- Issued by EEOC, Civil Service Commision, DOL,

DOJ
- Set forth for employers to follow in matters of
employee selection and record keeping.

- Periodical revisions on matters such as Sexual

harrasment
CHAPTER 2: Equal Opportunity and the Law

- The act that places the burden of proof back

on employers and permits compensatory and
punitive damages
CHAPTER 2: Equal Opportunity and the Law

- The act requiring employers to make

reasonable accommodations for disabled
employees; it prohibits discrimination against
disabled persons.
Some examples of Reasonable accomodation

• Employees with mobility or vision impairments may benefit

from voice-recognition software.
• Word-prediction software suggests words based on context
with just one or two letters typed.
• Real-time translation captioning enables employees to
participate in meetings.
• Vibrating text pagers notify employees when messages arrive
CHAPTER 2: Equal Opportunity and the Law

- Interference with a person’s work

performance, or creating an intimidating,
hostile or offensive work environment
- Submission

- Male to Female (v.v)

- Female to Female
- Male to Male
CHAPTER 2: Equal Opportunity and the Law

- QUID PRO QUO

- HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT – SUPERVISORS

- HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT – CO WORKER/NON

EMPLOYEES
CHAPTER 2: Equal Opportunity and the Law

- Take all complaints seriously

- Issue strong policies
- Explain complaint procedure
- Training sessions
- Disciplinary actions to those involved
- Documentation
- Effective upward communication
CHAPTER 2: Equal Opportunity and the Law

- First say “NO” or else…

- Furnish a letter to the harasser and his or her
supervisor or else…
- File a report to your supervisor or else…
- File an EEOC claim
- If all fails, call the Lawyer
CHAPTER 2: Equal Opportunity and the Law
CHAPTER 2: Equal Opportunity and the Law

- Disparate Treatment
Intentional Discrimination because of a
member’s race, religion, gender or ethnic group

- Disparate Impact
Neutral employment practice that creates
adverse impact
CHAPTER 2: Equal Opportunity and the Law

The overall impact of employer practices that

result in significantly higher percentages of
members of minorities and other protected
groups being rejected for employ ment,
placement, or promotion
CHAPTER 2: Equal Opportunity and the Law

- Diparate Rejection Rates

- Four-Fifths rule of thumb

- Restricted Policy

- Population Comparison

- McDonnell-Douglas test
CHAPTER 2: Equal Opportunity and the Law

Recruitment Personal Appearance

- Word of mouth - Dress
- Misleading Information - Uniforms
- Help Wanted Ads - Hair

Selection Promotion
- Educational Requirements Transfer
- Preference to relatives Layoffs
- Physical characteristics
- Arrest Records Benefits
- Application Forms
- Discharge due to
garnishment
CHAPTER 2: Equal Opportunity and the Law

- File Charges – Employee’s complaint

- Charge Acceptance – EEOC
- Serve Notice – with in 10days
- Investigation/Fact finding conference
- Cause/No Cause
- Conciliation
- Notice to sue
CHAPTER 2: Equal Opportunity and the Law
CHAPTER 2: Equal Opportunity and the Law

- Provide a position statement

- Conduct own investigation
- Furnish only requested information
- Keep your own record
- Bring an attorney
- Witnesses should be aware of the legal
significance of the information
- Conciliate prudently
CHAPTER 2: Equal Opportunity and the Law

Managing Diversity
- Provide Strong Leadership
- Assess the situation
- Provide diversity Training
- Change culture and
management systems
- Evaluate diversity management
program
CHAPTER 2: Equal Opportunity and the Law
CHAPTER 2: Equal Opportunity and the Law
CHAPTER 2: Equal Opportunity and the Law

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
AND THE LAW