1ST
The overall reason employment legislation exists is to protect employees from discrimination in the work place. To clarify further, Lepak & Gowan (2017) state, “Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, and genetic information” (pg. 97).
I believe employers can play a key role in preventing Congress from potentially putting more antidiscrimination laws and executive orders in place by truly understanding the importance of ensuring all candidates and employees are to be treated fairly within the organization. To ensure this practice or understanding is being implemented, employers should ensure Human Resources managers are knowledgeable of all antidiscrimination laws, executive orders, and the effects it can have on an organization. Once Human Resources managers have a thorough understanding, they should develop policies, and ensure all employees are trained initially and periodically thereafter, promote an inclusive culture so employees are able to communicate their differences without fear, and encourage open communication (Best Practices for Employers).
I believe Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is critical because it protects both employees and job applicants with the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of rae, color, religion, sex, or national origin when it comes to hiring, firing, compensation, work assignments, and all other activity related to employment (Lepak). The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1978 is critical for employees over the age of 40 because of the potential not to recieve promotions or pay raises, simply due to their age. With the Social Security retirement age being at 62 to 65 years of age, denying an older person a promotion, retirement benefits, or even laying them off after years of service to an organization is inappropriate and could largely affect that individual for the years to come until they reach eligibility for Social Security. Finally, Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1980 is important because like all antidiscrimation laws and executive orders, a person with a disability should not considered for a job due to a physical or mental impairment if they are qualified to do the job.
References
Lepak, D., & Gowan, M. (2017) Human Resource Management, Managing Employees for Competitive Advantage.
Best Practices for Employers and Human Resources/EEO Professionals. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/initiatives/e-race/bestpractices-employers.cfm
2nd
The simple answer to why employment legislation exists is, a way to ensure employers do not mistreat its employees. It allows workers a fair chance despite all circumstances and also creates a positive work environment. “Companies can do this by demonstrating that the employment practice is connected to a measure of job performance or that it is directly related in some other way to the ability to perform the job.” (Lepak & Gowan, 2017). As an employer to avoid need for additional employment legislation they could hold trainings, talk to the employees one on one, also police their own and make sure everyone is being treated rightfully and equally. In the Marine Corps we are given briefs from our Equal Opportunity Representative, we are also able to talk to them about situations that are cause for concern. All of the employment laws are extremely important, but the following seemed most important to me. First we have Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 this Act took the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and added in a few more key provisions. In addition to gender it included, race, color, national origin, and religion. Second we have the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978. Very self explanatory, it gives pregnant woman equal treatment as other applicants and employees. You would think during the making of the other equal employment acts this would have been a question that popped up, yet it wasn’t or at least not until 1978. Yes, women get pregnant and are not capable of certain things during that process, but it shouldn’t be used against them when working for their employer. With this Act pregnant women could get hired during pregnancy and not be fired because of it. Lastly we have the Civil Rights Act of 1991. This Act now amplified the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Employment Law Grouped explained, “The Act provided more remedies for those who were victims of employers where discrimination was more subtle, such as through a policy that is not discriminatory on its face,but has a disparate impact on certain groups.” The Act gives a bit more guidelines and also allows opportunity for compensation due to damages the discrimination may have caused.
Resources
Lepak, D., & Gowan, M. (2017) Human Resource Management,
Managing Employees for Competitive Advantage (72).
(2019). The Employment Law Group. Civil Rights Act of 1991. https://
www.employmentlawgroup.com/resources/statutes/civil-rights-act-
of-1991/
3rd
Employment legislation exists because we all ultimately want and deserve equality. We have all heard the quote …“that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”… from the declaration of independence. While we believe and feel this is self-evident with respect to working, it was not so for many years. Many laws had to be enacted to ensure that there were legal stipulations and ramifications if people violated the laws.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (1938) – Standardized the minimum wage for labor and what the equitable rate was for the work being done. It also standardized the overtime rate at one and a half times pay as “normal overtime”. Child labor also falls under this purview by ensuring that children under the age of eighteen can work if they get the authorization to do so and their hours are limited. It also limits the type of work they can perform. The United States of America is based off of this Law. This is the law that set all other laws to follow and for that the importance of the FLSA of 1938, cannot be overstated.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (1990) – Enacted to prevent discrimination based solely on a disability that would not bar the potential employees ability to perform the task for which they are applying. An employee has to get glasses because their vision has deteriorated. The company cannot fire the employee because they have impaired vision that can be corrected with glasses. If this wasn’t in place many companies could lose out on really great employees if they were to discriminate because of a disability. Stephen Hawking is considered by many to be the quintessential theoretical physicist of our common era. If we had just put him to the side and disregarded him when he got ill the world would have not been able to embrace his genius (Hawking radiation)
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) (1970) – Instituted to keep employees safe while at work. Workers require a clean and non-hazardous environment to conduct business. This covers all aspects of work whether an employee is working in an office indoors or on an aircraft flight line in inclement weather. There are organizational elements that must be adhered to for the safety of the employee that the firm is held to. If workers are not taken care of then they run the risk of getting hurt or injured. If they are hurt or injured they wont be at work to do the job and the firm suffers. This is a “win-win” for the firm because you keep the employees safe and doing the job they are producing for the company.
The best way for employers to play a key role in preventing the need for additional employment legislation is primarily follow the laws set forth already. Beyond the law the best way is to act ethically and morally correct to employees. If there is question about moral and ethical appropriateness the next best thing would be for them to go with the golden rule, “a guiding principle” that states “do to others as you would have them do to you”. We all want the same things that has us strive for the same objectives of promotion and working to that purpose.
References
http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/ (Links to an external site.)
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/list-of-employment-laws-2062282
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