PUBLIC PERSONNEL ADMIN AND HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

FOR MPA-2214-E

Name: DIANE C. SINDAC Date: January 27,2024

Course: MPA-NT Professor: Dr. Sarlito S. Ferraren Jr.

CASE STUDY NUMBER 1

1. Employment anti-discrimination laws have changed in many ways over the

years. Discuss these key changes, and how these legal shifts relate to an HR
Manager’s continuous effort to negotiate internal personnel changes and
external legal changes.

Introduction
People around the world face violence and inequality—and sometimes marred with
bullying and discrimination and sometimes physical assault. Because of race, color,
ethnicity, gender preferences, disability, body type it is difficult for someone to get
the job they desire.

The anti-discrimination law is to ensure equal opportunity and fair treatment for all
individuals in employment, regardless of their background or personal
characteristics. These aimed to eliminate discriminatory practices in hiring, firing,
promotion, compensation, and other employment-related decisions. The aspiration of
everyone is that whole approach to health especially mental health is human right to
fight for.

Workplace psychological abuse or discrimination is controllable- i,e. false

accusations, exclusion, job sabotage, and other forms of mistreatment that often
result in anxiety, depression, stress-related symptoms, Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder, and even suicidal ideation. When someone experiences discrimination at
work and no one take a move to help, this will add to her/his betrayal trauma
because those expected to help them turn against them.

Healthy Workplaces - With more people spending more time at work, healthy
workplaces are necessary to ensure the continued health of Filipino workers.
Workers must be enabled and directly involved in ensuring that the workplace
promotes health and well-being, prioritizing the prevention of health hazards and
concerns, and creating an integrated response to the specific health needs of all
workers. (DOH Health Promotion Framework Strategy 2030)
Definition of Terms. - as used in Republic Act 10911

(a) Employee refers to a person who performs professional, managerial or

administrative work and is paid salaries by the employer as compensation for
services rendered;
(b) Employer refers to any person, natural or juridical, employing the services of an
employee or worker and shall include the government and all its branches,
subdivisions and instrumentalities, all government-owned and -controlled
corporations, and government financial institutions, as well as nonprofit private
institutions or organizations;
(c) Job applicant refers to a person who applies for employment;
(d) Labor contractor refers to any person or an agent of that person who regularly
undertakes, with or without compensation, the procurement of employees or workers
for an employer, or the procurement for employees’ or workers’ opportunities to work
for an employer;
(e) Labor organization refers to any union or association of employees or workers
which exists in whole or in part for the purpose of collective bargaining or for dealing
with employers concerning terms and conditions of employment;
(f) Publisher refers to any person or juridical entity engaged in the printing of
information on paper and its distribution, buying or securing of airtime or space on
television, radio or the internet, and other similar media; and
(g) Worker refers to a person who performs manual labor involving skilled or
unskilled work, and is paid wages by the employer as compensation for services
rendered.

Identification of the problem

The Philippine’s Health Promotion Framework Strategy 2030 is a product of months

of multisectoral consultation and coordination with national government agencies
(NGAs), local government units (LGUs), developmental partners, the private sector,
civil society organizations (CSOs), and medical societies. The HPFS focuses on
promoting health and well-being and reducing inequity by improving individual habits
through its identified key priority areas: diet and physical activity, environmental
health, immunization, substance abuse, mental health, sexual and reproductive
health, and violence and injury prevention; and fostering environments conducive to
health by using a settings-based approach to the implementation of its programs and
activities. The settings-based approach shall cultivate healthy communities, schools,
and workplaces to address the socioeconomic factors and the physical environment
which affect one’s health. Overall, the HPFS provides the foundation for preventing
deaths, diseases, disability, and health inequities at a population level, rather than
improving individual treatment or disease management. The HPFS aims to usher a
new generation of healthy Filipinos, and ultimately make Healthy Pilipinas and
Ambisyon 2040 a reality sooner or later.

SWOT ANALYSIS

Strength Weakness

 Strengthened campaign on Anti-  Stigma in the culture locally and

Discrimination law in the community. nationally that has a very negative,
 RA 10911 Penalty imposed when inaccurate, and prejudiced
violated understanding of people with severe
 Conduct of studies and researches on mental illness
minimizing impediments
 Promote programs in coordination
with public and private agencies

Opportunities Threat

 Establish a Crisis Mobilization Task  Anti-discrimination law do not seem

Force in every LGU staffed exclusively to reduce hiring discrimination, it
with mental health workers to may even increase it.
respond to non-violent mental health
crisis calls instead of the police.
 Formulate a new framework of
employment relations

The Labour Code of the Philippines (“Labour Code”) is the primary source of
employment law. The Constitution provides guidance and is supplemented by
numerous employment-related legislations, decisions/rulings by the Philippine
Supreme Court, and the administrative issuances of the Department of Labour
and Employment (“DOLE”).

The following types of employees are protected:

 Regular employees: (i) by nature of the work or those who are engaged to
perform activities which are usually necessary or desirable in the usual
business or trade of the employer; and (ii) by years of service or those who
have rendered at least one year of service, whether continuous or broken,
with respect to the activity in which they are employed. They enjoy security of
tenure and all the protections afforded by law.
 Project employees are those whose employment has been fixed for a specific
project or undertaking, the completion or termination of which has been
 determined at the time the employee is engaged and thus, the period of
engagement is coterminous with the project. They enjoy security of tenure for
the duration of the project.
 Seasonal employees are those who perform work that is seasonal in nature
and are employed only for the duration of a season.
 Casual or temporary employees are those engaged to perform a job, work or
service which is merely incidental to the business of the employer, or only for
a definite period made known to the employee at the time of engagement.
They are entitled to most statutory benefits, except retirement pay and service
incentive leave pay, among others.
 Fixed-term employees are not common and are not expressly recognised in
the Labour Code. Jurisprudence recognises their validity under specific
circumstances. They are entitled to contractual benefits and enjoy security of
tenure for the duration of the contract.
 Probationary employees are those who are made to go on a trial period
before regularisation. They enjoy security of tenure during the probationary
period and may not be dismissed except for just or authorised cause or when
they fail to qualify as regular employees. Probationary employment shall not
exceed six months.

The terms of employment must be in a record that the government inspectors

may review. Some cases require a written contract, such as for the employment
of a domestic helper, for working children in public entertainment or information,
and in trilateral job contracting.

The Labour Code provides for minimum terms and conditions of employment.
Terms may also be implied by law or by custom, such as an employee’s duty to
serve an employer with fidelity, honesty and good faith, obeying all legal and
reasonable orders of the employer.

The Labor Code has remained the same since 1974, disjointed, and incoherent
amendments that are all lacking in an overall philosophy or any unifying theme and
common ideology. Our people need a higher level of empowerment geared at total
development of knowledge, attitude, skills, and habits. Labor Code is forcing
employers and employees to reward work based solely on time or wages based on
hourly, daily, monthly or annual rates. It is time to give both employers and
employees a productivity-based framework of compensation and benefits. Special
benefits for women on maternity and violence-based should be charged to the SSS,
PhilHealth, or DSWD. The employers should not be punished by making them spend
more if and when their husbands or lovers inflict on them physical, emotional, and
even financial violence. The employers should not be compelled to spend more if
employees become solo parents. These are good charitable works but let the
government shoulder the cost of its own charity.
Because law moved from requiring proof of discriminatory impact, anti-discrimination
law has been largely inadequate to help mistreated workers. Yet workplace
psychological abuse affects people of color and women at much higher rates
because we operate in a system built on stereotypes to reinforce power. Workers
can't always prove racism and sexism, but we can prove abuse. That's the loophole
in the law to protect workers from abuse, even though focusing on behaviors would
help people of color, women, and other workers who suffer from abuse of power.

Alternative course of action (ACA)

According to www.easyllama.com/blog/prevent-discrimination-in-the-workplace these

are steps that can prevent it

1. Develop a written policy that defines procedures and rules

Encourage employees to come forward and participate in the investigation,
assuring they will be kept confidential (to a reasonable extent), and people who
make complaints will be protected at all times. Having clear procedures and rules
established is also a way to make managers and employees aware of acceptable
workplace behavior within your country. In case of misbehavior, it will be easier to
point to the policy than to refer to a law the employee may not have heard of.
2. Educate all your workers about discrimination
It is important to ensure that all employees are aware of potential discrimination
issues in the workplace, have knowledge of your policies and procedures, and
know how to report the allegation. It is recommended to have separate training
for supervisors and managers as they are your first line of defense in preventing
workplace discrimination. Also, you should strive to inform employees of the
possible outcomes of discrimination, which include potential lawsuits. There are
many ways to keep everybody informed and up to date about the issue, like face-
to-face training, internal communications, or even using visual aids in common
areas to promote anti-discriminatory practices.

3. Establish a process for resolving discrimination issues

Any employee who feels they have been discriminated against or treated
negatively should report the issue to Human Resources, their direct supervisor,
manager, or director, and they should feel comfortable and safe when doing so.
In these cases, all companies must be consistent in addressing issues through a
fair and reasonable investigation, even if your business is not in legal jeopardy.
4. Consider more than one option for communication channels
An important part of the complaint process is providing effective and transparent
communication channels. Ideally, have more than one option for employees to
report discrimination, which will ensure that a supervisor cannot hide issues from
Human Resources and upper management. Formal communication channels like
an Intranet, emails, letters, or face-to-face interactions are crucial for the
employee to be able to make their complaint, and some even allow anonymous
reports to be made in order to start an investigation. You can also consider
keeping a more informal type of communication, like holding lunchtime
conversations and continuous collaboration among team members where you
can identify potential discriminatory practices that otherwise may go unnoticed.

5. Reduce bias in your hiring process.

Unconscious biases are stereotypes that we unintentionally have learned. They

have the ability to affect our behavior and perception of others. This is an issue
that many companies may not have in mind, but a vast body of research shows
that the hiring process is biased and unfair. This can frustrate diversity, recruiting,
promotion, and retention efforts. Awareness training is the first step to solving
unconscious bias in the workplace, as it allows employees to recognize that
everyone possesses them and to identify their own. It is also recommended to
have a standardized interview process by asking candidates the same set of
defined questions that allow employers to focus on the factors that have a direct
impact on performance. Giving a work sample test can also be a great tool
against unconscious bias as it forces recruiters to critique the quality of a
candidate's work versus judging them based on appearance, gender, age,
personality, or disability. Aside from the awareness training, inclusion training
also helps reduce unconscious biases in the workplace.
6. Implement an anti-retaliation program
Retaliation is the most common workplace discrimination charge and the easiest
for an employee to allege, as well as most challenging for a company to defend.
It is common for an original discrimination charge (other than retaliation) to fail to
establish a violation of the law, but the following retaliation charge will result in an
actual discrimination finding. Therefore, you should be providing all your
management staff with anti-retaliation training to make sure they have a full
understanding of what this entails and how to avoid reactive behavior once an
employee has engaged in the process of a complaint. You should also keep
thorough documentation of the employment actions you take and the reasons
behind them. For example, if you deny someone a promotion, you must have
enough proof of the selection process to show there were valid reasons for you to
select another candidate over that employee. If that person claims that your
denial of promotion was retaliatory, you will have this data to back you up and
avoid further issues.

7. Conduct team-building activities

Besides holding training in a meeting environment, hold team-building exercises
and events to help your employees interact and understand each other better.
This is a great opportunity to encourage diversity and inclusion as there are many
activities that can accomplish that, such as a potluck that invites everyone to
bring a dish from their cultural background.
8. Focus groups
In an employee focus group, employees take part in a guided discussion on a
particular topic, and are often used to improve employee engagement. They
serve as an extra opportunity to communicate that you value employee feedback
and are committed to positive change. These discussions can also help
employers proactively identify workplace stressors, frequency of conflicts, and
address issues to improve employee morale.
9. Provide managers and supervisors with soft skills training
 When talking about discrimination, one may immediately think of cases where a
person was denied a job or a promotion for unfair reasons or treated unequally by
their direct supervisor or manager, but we need to keep in mind employees can
also be discriminated against by their co-workers. In many cases, this includes
bullying and harassment. Instead of immediately getting HR involved, your
managerial employees should be fully qualified to deal with these issues in a
prompt and effective manner. Providing continuous soft skills training can
significantly improve their interactions with subordinates and keep problems like
this from escalating to discrimination complaints.

Action plan

Enough is enough with abuse of power at work. Stereotyping keeps certain groups in
power and the law have rendered discrimination policies ineffective to disrupt our
social hierarchies. The government should promote clear policies on anti-
discrimination in the workplace. Real change happens when bullying and mobbing
policies are enacted with gender and racial justice at the center. We need to amplify
stories of workplace abuse, especially of people of color and women, to show how
anti-discrimination law isn't enough.

We need to create policy to hold employers accountable for abuse at work and to
give more rights to workers, especially those who are disabled, people of color and
women. It gives employers realistic deadlines for addressing reported abuse, and
requires employers to report rates of turnover, stress leave if granted, and other data
so these incidents are isolated and acknowledge the systemic discrimination and
bias behind them.

“A healthy workplace is a productive workplace”

Prepared by:

DIANE C. SINDAC
dianetictamaraw18@gmail.com
0947-954-3478

References:
 Republic Act 10911
 Healthy Pilipinas The Philippines’ Health Promotion Framework Strategy 2030
 https://www.easyllama.com/blog/prevent-discrimination-in-the-workplace/
 Employment & Labour Laws and Regulations Philippines 2023-2024
https://iclg.com/practice-areas/employment-and-labour-laws-and-regulations/
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