MANA 7336 JSW Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Fair Treatment and Legal Compliance
Chapter 3 Overview
1. The strategic importance of fairness and legal compliance

2. Fairness
3. Components of the legal landscape
4. The Civil Rights Act of 1964.
5. Other federal anti-discrimination laws
6. Procedures for settling disputes between employees and employers
7. Diversity and inclusion
8. Two current issues in ensuring fair treatment and legal compliance.
Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

Copyright © 2018 Oxford University Press
Society’s Concerns about Fairness
• Society initiates and creates federal and state laws.

• Society pays taxes to cover the costs of a vast array of
government agencies and courts that are responsible for
interpreting and enforcing the laws.
• The legislative landscape reflects the issues that society is likely
to be concerned with and then further strengthens those
perspectives across all of society.

Concerns of the Labor Force
• The legislative landscape reflects issues employees are likely to

be concerned with.
• People believe that fairness is a desirable social condition: We
want to be treated fairly and others to view us as being fair.
• When choosing where to work, perceptions of what is fair,
desirable, and appealing reflect applicants’ fairness concerns.
• Once hired, employees express concerns about fairness both
informally, through daily conversations at work, and formally, if
they choose to seek employment elsewhere.
• Data shows that when employees are treated fairly, they treat
customers better.

What Fairness Means to Employees
Perceptions of fairness reflect at least three features of

any given situation(s): the actual outcomes, the
procedures used in arriving at these outcomes, and
the interactions employees have with their managers.
These are referred to as distributive justice, procedural
justice, and interactional justice, respectively.

Distributive Justice
The principle of distributive justice means that employees who

do not get the best outcomes may nevertheless feel they are
treated fairly.
• People judge outcomes such as pay and promotions as fair
when they believe that the distribution of the outcomes
corresponds to their judgments of what people deserve.
– When the relative sizes of raises correspond to the relative
performance levels of people in the unit, people tend to accept the
system as fair.
– When promotions are given to people who seem to be the most
qualified, the decision seems fair.

Procedural Justice
Perceptions of justice depend on more than the final distribution

of outcomes. Also important are beliefs about the process used
to determine outcomes.
• The greatest benefit of procedural justice is that it increases
employees’ acceptance of negative outcomes
– When pay raises are given out, no one is happy if they didn’t receive a
pay raise. But, if the process used to determine the pay raises is
considered fair, employees are more likely to accept the size of raise.
– American employees consider a formal procedure to be fair if it meets
the conditions shown in Exhibit 3.1

Exhibit 3.1 Conditions to be Met for Employees to
Perceive Formal Procedures as Fair

Interactional Justice
How managers behave in one-on-one conversations with

employees influences perceptions of fairness. When evaluating
how fairly they are treated, employees take into account how
they personally are treated by their managers.
• The interactions employees have with their managers can
help insure that employees do not perceive injustices where
there are none.
– Sensitive managers provide encouragement to employees who are not
promoted, and offer emotional support to employees who are laid off.
– Managers who acknowledge these negative situations and express
concern can minimize the disruptive effects.

Reactions to Unjust Treatment
Changes in Attitude Changes in Health

Employees respond with: Employees may experience:
• Lower job satisfaction • Higher levels of anxiety
• Lower commitment • Perceived stress
• Less engagement • Emotional exhaustion
• Greater distrust of their • Anger
employer • Burnout
• Lower motivation • Depression
• Insomnia

Reactions to Unjust Treatment
Financial &
Negative Lawsuits &
Reputational
Behavior Litigation
Damage
Responses to perceived injustice are largely negative for the employee and the
organization. That is why having fair procedures that lead to fair outcomes and having
managers who respectfully explain decision processes is so important.

The Legal Landscape
“It’s one of the most important changes we see

resulting from the Civil Rights Act. Changing the law
actually did change people’s minds because now it’s
largely accepted as unjust to discriminate in
employment based on race or gender.”
William P. Jones
Historian and Professor
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Exhibit 3.2 The Legal Landscape

Societal Factors
Laws are simply society’s values and standards that are

enforceable in the courts.
• The legal system is designed to encourage socially responsible
behavior.
• Laws are created in response to issues and problems that
emerge in society.
• As society’s concerns change, so do employees’ legal rights.
• Many shared societal values are encoded in Federal laws,
State laws, and Executive Orders.

Laws
• Federal
– Federal laws are applicable to the entire United States. They reflect
pervasive wide-spread values. Important federal laws are summarized
in Exhibit 3.3.
• State
– State laws must be consistent with federal laws but may offer different
and better protection and cover more companies than federal laws.
They are often precursors of federal laws.
• Executive Orders
– United States presidents shape the legal environment by approving or
vetoing bills passed by Congress and by influencing how vigorously
administrative agencies carry out their duties and responsibilities.

Exhibit 3.3 Major Federal Employment Laws
and Regulations

Exhibit 3.3 Major Federal Employment Laws
and Regulations (continued)

Agencies
Administrative agencies make rules (called standards or

guidelines), conduct investigations, make judgments about guilt,
and impose sanctions. They have the responsibility and authority
to prosecute companies they believe are violating the law.
• At both federal and state levels, the government can delegate rule
making and enforcement to an agency.
• Three federal administrative agencies of particular importance for
managing HR are:
1. EEOC: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
2. OSHA: Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
3. NLRB: National Labor Relations Board.

Courts
• In the United States, judges do not make laws; they interpret

and apply them.
• The interpretations of judges are very important.
• When judges explain the reasons for their decisions, they
reveal how they are likely to treat related cases in the future.
• Rulings made by the Supreme Court carry the most weight.
• Over time, judges’ legal decisions may stray from what
Congress had in mind when it passed the law originally. If so,
Congress may revisit and modify the law.

Company Responses
Federal and State laws, executive orders, court rulings, agency

guidelines, and agency sanctions all generally lead to responses
from companies, often changing their policies, practices, or
procedures.
• New court rulings, new or revised agency guidelines, and new
Federal and State laws can occur throughout the year.
• Practices that were previously regarded as fair and legal can
become illegal within a short time.
• HR professionals should be continually monitoring the legal
environment.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits

discrimination by employers, employment agencies,
and unions on the basis of race, color, religion, sex,
national origin, or pregnancy.

The Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission
• The EEOC is one of the most influential agencies responsible
for enforcing employment laws.
• EEOC regulations have implications for nearly every area of HR
activity--recruitment, selection, training, promotions,
performance management, compensation, termination, etc.
• As an enforcer of laws, the EEOC can prosecute employers
who engage in illegal discrimination.
• Each year, the EEOC receives approximately 90,000
complaints from employees.

Exhibit 3.4 Discrimination Charges Filed with the EEOC

Exhibit 3.5 Historical Trends in Discrimination Charges
Filed with the EEOC

Categories of Discrimination
covered by Title VII
• Title VII makes it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant

or an employee based on the person’s
– Sex
– Race
– Color
– National origin
– Religion
• It is also illegal to discriminate against someone because of a
spouse’s or significant other’s attributes described above.
• Title VII also prohibits discrimination on any condition of
employment based on pregnancy.

The Glass Ceiling
• A great deal of progress has been made in reducing the

effects of the glass ceiling since the passage of Title VII.
• Women are still substantially underrepresented at all levels of
management.
– The percentage decreases at higher levels of management.
– Recent estimates are that 35% to 40% of managers, 25% to 32% of
senior managers, and 4% to 20% of Chief Executives are women,
depending on the size of the company.
– The percentage of female CEOs of the Fortune 500 firms and the S & P
500 firms hovers between 4% to 5%.
• Although the term glass ceiling originated relative to sex
discrimination, it now also applies to race, color, and national
origin discrimination.
Race, Color, and National Origin
Discrimination
• Race
– Race discrimination applies to discrimination on any condition of
employment because of a person’s race or personal characteristics
associated with race. This includes hair texture and facial features.
• Color
– Color discrimination applies to discrimination on any condition of
employment because of a person’s skin color complexion.
• National Origin
– National origin discrimination applies to discrimination on any
condition of employment based on a person’s country of birth, accent,
and perceived or actual ethnicity.
– National origin should not be confused with country of citizenship, or
immigration status

Religious Discrimination
• Title VII prohibits employers from discriminating on any

condition of employment based on religion.
• Religious discrimination includes segregating the workplace or
jobs based on religion.
• The law requires employers to provide employees with
“reasonable accommodations” for sincerely held religious
beliefs when asked.
– Employers do not have to accommodate employees’ religious beliefs if
doing so is costly, compromises workplace safety, decreases efficiency,
or infringes on rights of other employees.
– Employers are not required to accommodate the religious preferences
of an employee who never asked for accommodation.

Exhibit 3.6 Perceptions of Religious Groups Facing
Discrimination

Harassment
• Under the EEOC, employers have a duty to maintain a working

environment free of harassment based on sex, race, color,
religion, national origin, age, or disability.
• The EEOC’s guidelines clearly state that an employer is liable
for the acts of its workers if the employer knew or should
have known about the conduct and took no immediate,
appropriate corrective action.
• Employers who fail to develop explicit, detailed anti-
harassment policies and grievance procedures put themselves
at risk.

Sexual Harassment
Hostile Work Environment Quid Pro Quo

• Similar to the general • Defined as obtaining favors
definition of harassment, of a sexual nature in
but sexual in nature exchange for promotion,
• The totality of conduct must pay increase, etc.
be severe or pervasive • Perpetrators must be
enough to alter the supervisors/managers who
condition of the victim’s can take tangible
employment and create an employment actions against
abusive working the victim, that significantly
environment change employment status
Exhibit 3.7 Elements of a Zero-Tolerance
Harassment Policy

Typical Discrimination Lawsuit
EEOC
Claimant goes to investigates and If not resolved,
EEOC. facilitates claimant sues.
resolution.
In the first phase of the lawsuit, the plaintiff must establish a prima facie case of
discrimination by showing disparate treatment or disparate impact.

Defending Discrimination
Allegations
Disparate Treatment Disparate Impact

• Legal term used to describe • Legal term used to refer to
illegal discrimination against unequal and discriminatory
an individual. treatment based on a
• The unequal treatment of characteristic associated
persons or groups related with being a member of a
directly to an individual protected group.
characteristic. • Discrimination may not be
• Discrimination is intentional, but puts certain
intentional. groups at disadvantage.
• Difficult to prove
Defending Discrimination
Allegations
If a prima facie case of disparate treatment or disparate impact is
established, the employer is given the opportunity to provide a
defense, such as:
• Job-relatedness - when company can show that the information
used in employment decisions is related to success on the job.
• Business necessity - when an employer can show that the
employment decision was based on a factor that is essential to the
safe operation of the business.
• Bona fide occupational qualifications (BFOQ) - when practices are
"reasonably necessary to the normal operation of that particular
business or enterprise."
• Bona fide seniority systems - when employment decisions are made
on the basis of seniority.
Other Discrimination Laws
Although Title VII is the most sweeping anti-discrimination

law in the workplace, the EEOC also enforces other
important laws that it illegal to discriminate based on age,
disability, or genetic information.

• Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)

– Protects people 40 or older from discrimination based on age with respect to any
term, condition, or privilege of employment--including, but not limited to, hiring,
firing, promotion, layoff, compensation, benefits, job assignments, and training.
• Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA)
– Prohibits private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies, and
labor unions from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in job
application processes, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, job training, and
other terms conditions, and privileges of employment.
• Affirmative action programs (AAPs)
– AAPs are intended to reduce employment discrimination or to correct
underutilization of qualified members of protected groups in an organization’s
relevant labor market.
• Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP)
– The agency responsible for overseeing the employment practices of federal
contractors and enforcing relevant federal regulations.
Exhibit 3.8 What Do You Know About Aging?

Policies and Practices Employers Can Use to
Exhibit 3.9 Accommodate Employees with Disabilities

Protected Groups
• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act identifies the following as

protected groups:
– Women
– African Americans
– Hispanics
– Native Americans
– Asian Americans
– Pacific Islander Americans
• In addition to these groups, federal contractors are required to
take affirmative action to employ and advance qualified
individuals with disabilities.

The Department of Labor specifies the following required

components of a federal contractors’ AAP:
1. Utilization analysis, which determines the number of minorities and
women employed in each type of job in the organization.
2. Availability analysis, which measures how many members of minorities
and women are available to work in the relevant labor market of an
organization.
3. Goals and timetables specify how the organization plans to correct any
underutilization of protected groups.
Additionally, federal contractors must submit an “Equal Pay
Report” to the OFCCP annually summarizing pay data by gender,
race and ethnicity.

Settling Disputes
“The pressure on workers to keep whatever job they have

does not ease the responsibility of employers to take every
complaint of harassment seriously.”
William R. Tamayo
Regional Attorney
EEOC

Company Grievance Procedures
Informal Written Grievance Appeal to

Discussion Complaint Hearing Board
If after participating in a hearing, either the employee or management

is not satisfied with the decision, they can appeal to an appeals board.
The appeals board's decision is final.
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Mediation Arbitration
• All concerned parties present • A more formal process that
their case to a third-party includes third-parties who
neutral: the mediator. render a judgment, yet it is not
• The disputing parties prepare so formal that the rules of a
a confidential written court must be followed.
statement of their case and a • Employees must be permitted
statement of the resolutions to have a representative for
they would find acceptable. their case (i.e. an attorney), and
representatives must present
• Each side then presents its
their cases in a formal manner.
arguments in a private
• Decisions are rendered by a
meeting with the mediator.
panel of arbitrators.
Settling Disputes in Court
For cases that are resolved in court, two common remedies to

violations are monetary damages and settlement agreements:
• Monetary Damages
– The defendant (employer) is required to pay the plaintiff (employee).
– Compensatory monetary damages are intended to help victims retrieve
what they have lost (e.g., back pay and attorneys' fees).
– Punitive monetary damages are intended specifically to punish
wrongdoers and deter future wrongdoing.
• Settlement Agreements
– The defendant does not admit to wrongdoing but nevertheless agrees
to pay money to the plaintiff or plaintiffs.

Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives
for Ensuring Fair Treatment
Diversity and inclusion initiatives address the concerns of legally

protected, and may also address the concerns of some groups
without legal protections, e.g., single or new parents, and even
bi-coastal commuters.

Inclusion
Practices that help create a culture of inclusion:

• Designing recruiting strategies to increase diversity.
• Community outreach related to diversity.
• Align diversity with business goals and objectives.
• Increase diversity in higher-level positions through leadership
development.
• Collect metrics on diversity

Exhibit 3.10 Ten Ways to be Inclusive of People
with Disabilities

Employee Resource Groups
Employee resource groups promote activities such as:

• Planning and managing community-specific outreach
activities.
• Choosing topics and organizing expert speakers.
• Providing mentoring and educational opportunities for
employees.
• Reviewing and helping shape company policies.
• Providing input about products and services.

Exhibit 3.11 Employee Resource Groups and
Special Interest Groups at Google

Exhibit 3.12 Initiatives Used to Increase Gender
Diversity and Inclusion

Economic Benefits of Diversity
1) Diverse employees are likely to be able to better understand

a diverse customer base.
2) Both creativity and decision making quality improve when
the team is more diverse.
3) Diversity initiatives help attract and retain the best workers.
4) Some evidence indicates that greater diversity is positively
related to productivity.

Current Issues
At particular times in history and in particular organizations or

industries, specific fairness issues are especially salient and in
need of attention. Today, two issues of significant concern are
discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity and
discrimination based on mental disabilities, specifically autism.

Issue 1: Discrimination Based on
Sexual Orientation
• Society’s views concerning lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender (LGBT) employees are in flux.
• Since the Supreme Court ruled same-sex marriages as legal in
2015, the EEOC has extended protections over discrimination
based on a spouse's gender or sexual orientation.
• Several important HR implications follow from new laws and
rulings that make this discrimination illegal.
– Same-sex partners must now have equal access to benefits such as
health insurance and family leave time.
– Organizations must now be vigilant in preventing sexual orientation or
gender identity discrimination in all conditions of employment.
• As organizations adapt to the laws, working conditions of
those in the LGBT community are likely to continue improving.
Issue 2: Autism in the Workplace
• In 2008, the ADAAA broadened the definition of disability to specified

autism as a condition that should almost always be considered a
disability under the ADA.
• With the continued increase in the number of children with autism,
the number of working age adults will also increase.
• Companies need to be aware that those with autism have the same
protections as workers with physical disabilities
• Reasonable accommodations for employees with autism may include:
– Providing a workspace free from bright lights and loud sounds.
– Providing clear precise instructions in writing.
– Limiting social interactions of the job when they are not essential.
– Disregarding selection interview scores or emotional intelligence scores when
making hiring decisions for jobs where these skills are not relevant.
– Allowing telecommuting.
Chapter 3 Key Terms
Distributive Justice – When employees believe that the outcomes they

experience are fair in comparison to the outcomes of
others.
Procedural Justice – Perceptions about fairness in the process used to
determine outcomes.
Interactional Justice – Employees’ feelings about whether managers are sensitive
to their situations, give them the information they need,
and treat them politely and respectfully.
Legal Precedents – Judges use legal precedents when they refer back to
important decisions that were made in the past and use
these as the basis for making a decision in a new case.
Discrimination - The unequal treatment of persons or groups that is unfair,
improper, or unjustifiable and based on a individual
characteristic.

Chapter 3 Key Terms
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) – Administers Title VII of

the Civil Rights Act, the Equal Pay Act, the
Age Discrimination in Employment
Act, the Genetic Information Non-
Discrimination Act, and employment-related elements of the
American Disabilities Act.
The Glass Ceiling – A metaphor for an apparent barrier that keeps women from
reaching upper levels of management in
corporations.
Harassment – Conduct that creates a hostile, intimidating, or offensive work
environment; that unreasonably interferes
with the
individual’s work; or that adversely affects the individual’s
employment opportunities.
Constructive Discharge – Constructive discharge occurs when working
conditions
Copyright © 2018 Oxford University Press become so unbearable
Chapter 3 Key Terms
Sex-Plus Discrimination – Putting special restrictions on one protected group

(generally women) is known as sex-plus discrimination.
Grievance Procedures – (a.k.a. compliant resolution procedures) encourage
employees to voice their concerns to the company
instead of to the courts, and they encourage employees
to seek constructive resolutions without litigation.
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) – Involves making an agreement to
forego litigation and instead resolve disputes by
either internal or external mediation or arbitration.
Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives – Policies and practices that an
organization adopts voluntarily for the purpose
of ensuring that all members of a diverse workforce feel
they are treated fairly.

Chapter 3 Key Terms
Culture of Inclusion – By using diversity initiatives to create a culture of

inclusion, employers strive to
create a company culture in which everyone
feels equally integrated into the larger
system.

Answers to Exhibit 3.8 What Do You Know About Aging?


MANA 7336 JSW Chapter 3

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

MANA 7336 JSW Chapter 3

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Chapter 3: Fair Treatment and Legal Compliance

1. The strategic importance of fairness and legal compliance

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

• Society initiates and creates federal and state laws.

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

• The legislative landscape reflects issues employees are likely to

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

Perceptions of fairness reflect at least three features of

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

The principle of distributive justice means that employees who

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

Perceptions of justice depend on more than the final distribution

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

How managers behave in one-on-one conversations with

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

Changes in Attitude Changes in Health

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

“It’s one of the most important changes we see

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

Laws are simply society’s values and standards that are

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

Administrative agencies make rules (called standards or

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

• In the United States, judges do not make laws; they interpret

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

Federal and State laws, executive orders, court rulings, agency

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

• Title VII makes it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

• A great deal of progress has been made in reducing the

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

• Title VII prohibits employers from discriminating on any

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

• Under the EEOC, employers have a duty to maintain a working

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

Hostile Work Environment Quid Pro Quo

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

Disparate Treatment Disparate Impact

Although Title VII is the most sweeping anti-discrimination

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

• Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act identifies the following as

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

The Department of Labor specifies the following required

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

“The pressure on workers to keep whatever job they have

Jackson, Schuler, Werner; Managing Human Resources 12e

Informal Written Grievance Appeal to

If after participating in a hearing, either the employee or management