Discrimination and

Harassment
 Discrimination
• Discrimination is that a person is deprived of some benefit or opportunity because of membership
in some group that faces substantial prejudice.
• Discrimination in employment, which is our concern here, generally arises from the decisions
employers make about hiring, promotion, pay, fringe benefits, and the other terms and conditions of
employment that directly affect the economic interests of employees.
• Firstly, discrimination involves decisions that directly affect the employment status of individuals or
the terms and conditions of their employment; that is, discrimination occurs in what are generally
regarded as personnel decisions, such as those involving hiring and firing, promotion, pay,
advancement opportunities, and the like.

• Secondly, the unequal treatment results from prejudice or some other morally unjustified attitude
against members of the group to which an individual belongs. In cases of discrimination, individuals
are not treated on the basis of individual merit but on the basis of membership in a group.
 Discrimination
• There are many types of discrimination such as
Sex Discrimination. In the interpretation of Title VII, sex discrimination is discrimination based on the
fact that a person is male or female and not on sex-related matters, such as sexual orientation or marital
status.
Religious Discrimination. Religious discrimination is substantially different from discrimination based on
race or sex. There are instances, to be sure, of religious discrimination in which employers refuse to hire
or promote individuals simply because of prejudice against members of certain religious groups, such as
Catholics, Jews, and Muslims. Most charges of religious discrimination in employment, however, involve
conflicts between the religious beliefs and practices of employees and workplace rules and routines.
National Origin Discrimination. National origin discrimination overlaps discrimination based on race,
color, and, to some extent, religion. It is conceptually distinct, however, because an employer could have
been Arab or Mexican.
 Discrimination
• Age Discrimination. Age discrimination results largely from the benefits that
employers perceive in shunting older employees aside to make room for younger
employees whom they believe have more up-to-date skills and innovative ideas.
Younger employees are less expensive to employ because older employees generally
have higher salaries and make more extensive use of fringe benefits.

• Handicap Discrimination. In many respects, discrimination against the handicapped

is like religious discrimination rather than discrimination on the basis of race or sex.
Employing the handicapped often requires that they be treated differently in order to
compensate for their disabilities. It may be argued that employers ought to be willing
to make reasonable accommodations for the impairments or disabilities of the
handicapped, just as they are obligated to make reasonable accommodations for the
religious beliefs of their employees.
 Sexual Harassment

 Sexual Harassment is the improper sexual conduct in the workplace—which includes lewd and suggestive
comments, touching and fondling, persistent attention, and requests for sexual favors.

 Two kinds of harassment.

• One is quid pro quo harassment, in which a superior, who is usually a man, uses his power to grant or deny
employment benefits to exact sexual favors from a subordinate, who is usually a woman.

• The other kind is hostile working environment harassment, in which the sexual nature of the conduct of coworkers
and others causes a woman (or a man) to be very uncomfortable.
 Objection against discrimination and
harassment

 There are, first, straightforward utilitarian arguments that cite the ways discrimination harms individuals, business
firms, and society as a whole.

 A second kind of argument appeals to the Kantian notions of human dignity and respect for persons.

 Third is from the principle of justice.